Professor of double bass and host of the annual Louisiana Bass Fest Yung-Chiao Wei is trying to change the negative stereotypes surrounding her favorite instrument.
In February, the University hosted the 2017 Louisiana Bass Fest. The festival included a solo competition, a series of master classes and a two-hour bass concert to finish off the event.
“It was a long weekend,” said Wei.
The awards of the solo competition included a free semester at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan for the winner of the 18 and under group. Other prizes included two $1,000 scholarships from The Master Players Festival at University of Delaware.
Wei has played bass since she was in fifth grade. She came to the United States from Taiwan when she was 16 years old and since then has played in many prestigious concert halls and festivals across the country. In 2003, Wei became the first female bassist to perform a solo in Carnegie Hall.
2017 marks 17 years of teaching bass at the University for Wei. However, she was faced with a large problem when she first began teaching.
“When I first came here, there was only one bass student,” Wei said. “He was not even a bass major. So I had to start everything new. I had to just start the whole thing.”
In her first few years of teaching, Wei resorted to recruiting young bass players from other countries. However, Wei said she believed it was important to not only rely on other countries producing new bass players, but to foster a generation of bass players here.
“I started to have some students from around here or the Baton Rouge area,” Wei said. “So now, I have the principal bassist of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the assistant principal bassist. They were both my students at LSU.”
However, the lack of young bass players is not unique to the University.
In the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, “The average age in the year 2000 was like 80 years old,” according to Wei. “We have a big gap in the bass playing generation. We have very old bass players, and then we don’t have any young generations playing bass.”
Perhaps part of the reason for the lack of young bass players is because, according to Wei, many people think the instrument itself is hard to manage.
“There’s a reason why it’s not a popular instrument,” said Wei. “And I’m trying to change this stereotype.”
The Annual Bass Fest is one way for Wei to combat the age gap in the bass community. By creating a sense of competition between the young bass players, it will push them to better themselves and their playing.
“I believe whatever instrument you play, if you are a good musician, you can make a difference,” Wei said.
LSU E. & D. White professor of jazz studies William Grimes bows after his performance at the 2017 Louisiana Bass Fest on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in the LSU School of Music building.
