We are pleased to invite you to submit a proposal to present at the ISB 2023 Convention. Your proposal may be for either the general convention schedule, and/or the ISB Young Bassists Program (ages 8-18). The convention will take place on the campus of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from Monday, June 5, 2023, through Saturday, June 10, 2023. We anticipate over 1,000 bassists, exhibitors, collaborative musicians, family members, and guests from around the world to attend the concerts, seminars, workshops, lecture-demonstrations, panel discussions, masterclasses, exhibits, Young Bassists Program, and ensembles for non-professional bassists.
In addition to the convention, the ISB will be holding competitions on Monday, June 5, 2023 and Tuesday, June 6, 2023 in solo, jazz, orchestral, and young bassist performance, as well as the tenth biennial ISB Maker's Competition.
As a non-profit organization that puts all revenues back to work for our membership, we are unable to reimburse travel expenses. Additionally, we do not pay appearance fees to any bassists — one of the ISB's long held and guiding principles. We are grateful for the many presenters over the years who have donated their time, travel, and talent as a way of giving back to the worldwide bass community. Presenters do receive a complimentary convention registration for the week, plus badges for their non-bass playing guests and family members at no charge.
We expect to receive a large number of proposals for the ISB 2023 Convention, and we will make every effort to accommodate as many presenters as possible. Typically, there are many more submissions than there are slots, so it is not always possible to accept every proposal in the first draft of the schedule. We do maintain a standby list to fill in when there are cancellations. You might also consider submitting a joint presentation with a fellow bassist. If you would like to research past presentation topics, go to the Online Resource Library, where you can click on and view searchable PDFs of convention programs going back to the 1980s.
If you are interested in appearing at the ISB 2023 Convention, please complete the online proposal form no later than Thursday, September 15, 2022. We hope to have the convention schedule assembled by Tuesday, November 15, 2022, and that we'll be seeing you next June at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance in the University of Michigan!
Sincerely,
Gaelen McCormick
ISB President-Elect
Chair, ISB 2023 Convention
Please read guidelines completely before starting your proposal.
Use the Start a Proposal / Manage My Proposals link at the bottom to view any proposals you've already started or to start a new proposal.
If you'd like to start collecting what you'll need as you enter your proposal, here are some guidelines. You'll be able to enter your Collaborating Performers / Participants (if applicable), upload any required files, and edit your proposal right up until you submit it.
Please have the following required information ready before you begin your submission:
If you are submitting for yourself, please also have this information ready:
If you are submitting for a group or ensemble, please also have the following required information ready:
We will also ask if you would like to be considered as a judge for one of our competitions (Monday, June 5, 2023).
In order for your proposal to be considered, you must FINISH AND SUBMIT the proposal. Proposals that have been started but not submitted using the FINISH AND SUBMIT link on the Proposals Management page will NOT be considered, so please do not forget this important step.
If you are having any problems submitting your proposal, please send screenshots of the error messages and text highlighted in red in your submission and email to .