Winners of the 2021 ISB Double Bass Competition

The International Society of Bassists' biennial double bass competition was held virtually this year due to the global pandemic. Sandor Ostlund, professor of double bass at Baylor University, served as chair of this year's competition. The six divisions were Solo, Jazz, Orchestra, Age 15-18, Age 14 and Under, and, new in 2021, a Youth Jazz Division Age 15-18.

Enjoy these performances by our 2021 Competition winners!

• Solo Division — Jason Henery
• Jazz Division — Vincent Dupont
• Orchestra Division — Peter Hatch
• Age 15-18 Division — Nicholas Boettcher
• Age 15-18 Youth Jazz Division — Andrew Vinther
• Age 14 and Under Division — Joshua Thrush

Solo Division

JUDGES: Scott Dixon, Chair, Lorraine Campet, Caroline Emery, Matthew McDonald, Joel Quarrington and DaXun Zhang

The Gary Karr Prize of $5,000, given by Peter & Chris Gallagher, was won by Jason Henery. The prize also includes an expenses-paid recital at the 2023 ISB convention.

Australia's Jason Henery is a student at the Curtis Institute of Music where his teachers are Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer. He began his bass studies with his father, Sydney Symphony co-principal bass Alex Henery, and continued at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Sydney Symphony co-principal bass Kees Boersma. He was principal bass of the Australian Youth Orchestra from 2017-2019.

The Scott Haigh Prize of $1,000, given by Peter Gallagher and Unified Retirement Planning Group, was won by Nash Tomey of Kansas City, Missouri.

Third prize of $750, given by Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Mapp, was won by Jacob Warren of South Lyon, Michigan.

Honorable Mentions went to Tristen Jarvis and Markus Lang. Markus also won a $500 prize for best performance of the required piece, Computatis Maledictus by Margi Griebling-Haigh.

Jazz Division

JUDGES: Mark Urness, Chair, Division Chair, Gerald Cannon, Peter Dominguez, John Goldsby, Robert Hurst and Marlene Rosenberg

The Scott LaFaro Prize of $5,000, given by the family of Scott LaFaro, was won by Vincent Dupont. The prize also includes an expenses-paid concert at the 2023 ISB convention.

New Hampshire native Vincent Dupont is a graduate of the Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University. He took part in Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 2016, as well the Ravinia Steans Music Institute in Chicago. He is rapidly becoming a first-call bassist, performing with Russell Malone, Lew Tabackin, Harold Mabern, Toshiko Akiyoshi and others. He has appeared at Washington D.C.'s Blues Alley, Chicago's Jazz Showcase, and Scullers in Boston, and at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival and the Staten Island Jazz Festival.

Second prize of $1,000 was won by Cole Davis, of New York, New York.

Third prize of $750 was won by Alon Near of Brooklyn, New York.

Honorable Mentions went to Eric Hitt and Elay Kadosh.

Orchestra Division

JUDGES: Andrew Raciti, Chair, Kristen Bruya, Joe Conyers, Alex Henery, Sarah Hogan Kaiser, Robin Kesselman

First prize was won by Peter Hatch. Peter will receive an expenses-paid week with an ICSOM orchestra during its 2021-2022 season.

Peter Hatch is studying for his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where he is a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, in the studio of Harold Robinson and Rex Surany. He received his Bachelor of Music at Rice University, where he received the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, studying with Tim Pitts. He is a substitute bass section member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony and San Antonio Symphony, and has attended the Verbier Festival, Wabass Institute and Domaine Forget.

Second prize of $1,000 was won by Logan May of Lagrangeville, New York.

Third prize of $750 was won by Tim Reinhardt of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Age 15-18 Division

JUDGES: Nick Scales, Chair, Thierry Barbé, Susan Cahill, Christine Hoock, Rob Nairn and George Speed

The Joel Quarrington Prize of $2,500, given by Joel Quarrington, was won by Nicholas Boettcher of Naperville, Illinois.

Nicholas Boettcher is a student of Andy Anderson and principal bass with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has won numerous competitions and awards, including the National Young Arts Foundation Competition and 2020 Presidential Volunteer Service Award. in 2017 he founded the No Repeats Project, a mentor program that recruits incarcerated teen musicians to teach and perform, using music's transformative power to reduce recidivism.

Second prize of $500 was won by Toby Vigneau of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Third prize of $250, given by David Murray, was won by Orion Miller of New York, New York.

Youth Jazz Division

JUDGES: Adam Booker and Miles Brown, Co- Chairs

First prize of $1,000 was won by Andrew Vinther of Lynnwood, Washington.

Andrew Vinther has studied with Steve Schermer of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, William Langlie-Miletich of the Seattle Symphony, and Derek Weller at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He was named Outstanding Soloist at the 2018 and 2019 University of Oregon Jazz Festivals, and Essentially Ellington Outstanding Bass in 2020. He was a member of the NAfME All National Orchestra in 2020 and principal bass of the Honor Orchestra of America in 2020. He has been a member of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and was principal bass for the WMEA All State Orchestra in 2020.

Second prize of $500 was won by Tom Gotsch of Chicago, Illinois.

Third prize of $250 was won by Ryan King of Westerville, Ohio.

Age 14 and Under Division

JUDGES: Kate Jones, Chair, Maggie Cox, Tianyang Liu, Jackie Pickett, Sonia Ray and Roger Vasquez, Jr.

First prize of $500, given by Chris Kosky, was won by Joshua Thrush of Vienna, Virginia.

Joshua Thrush has been playing the bass for nearly five years and began private lessons with Ira Gold in 2016. He is a Youth Fellow with the National Symphony Orchestra and a member of the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra. In 2021, Joshua won the AYSO Solo Competition and the Rockville Music Competition Intermediate Strings division, and was chosen as an alternate for the National Youth Orchestra 2. In 2020, Joshua was named principal bass of northern Virginia's Junior District X Honors Orchestra and was accepted into the Fairfax Symphony's All-Stars Youth Orchestra program.

Second prize of $250 was won by Zichen Zhang of Shanghai, China.

Third prize of $100 was won by Yi Cheng Ding of Changzhou, China.

Honorable Mention went to Shang Shi for best performance of the required piece, Folias de Espana by Gaspar Sanz.