[BASS PLAYING]
DAVID GROSSMAN: Hello.
My name is David Grossman.
And I play the bass in the New York Philharmonic.
Growing up in New York City, man,
I had the best of the best in terms of the arts and exposure
to the arts.
And further of being born into an artistic family,
we always were surrounded by the arts.
My father is a photographer and an opera singer,
and my mom was also a great musician.
So there certainly have been huge artistic influences on me.
Piano was actually my first instrument.
But I was drawn to the bass because it's the foundation
and it's also very versatile.
I was very into the piano.
And I was encouraged to try the bass
because bass is more social.
I'm always alone as a pianist.
And the bass, you have more opportunity
to play in different groups, jazz, or classical.
Certainly, the bass is very challenging on a number
of different levels.
We have quite a lot of business to travel up and down
the instrument compared to a violin.
Also, certainly traveling with the bass itself
is quite a challenge at times.
I started playing jazz when I was 12.
I was drawn to the feel of the music.
Just the rhythmic feel.
As Duke Ellington said don't mean
to think if it ain't got that swing.
I've done two recordings under my name.
They're called the bass of both worlds.
One is a classical one is jazz.
The classical one are all transcriptions.
Mostly that I've done for pieces originally
for other instruments that I've decided
to transcribe for the bass.
My jazz record also under that name is a wonderful.
I had a great time recording it.
It's mostly originals.
I wrote for my jazz sextet.
I love yoga.
I'm an avid practitioner.
I go most days if I can.
I'm very drawn to philosophy.
I study philosophy.
And I enjoy bike riding.
And I play the piano still and I compose and I play jazz.
So I'm pretty busy.
And I teach--
I teach quite a bit.
I teach at the Manhattan School music.
And next year, we'll be teaching also
at [? Manus. ?] I mean, there's been so many great weeks here.
One thing that comes to mind is when Maazel
would conduct [INAUDIBLE].
And towards the end, he would parody or act
the part of the puppet, which was amazing to me.
Because the audience couldn't see that.
It was just for us.
And that was a great moment.
And I got chills watching him do that ending as such.
Well, what I love about performing
in the Philharmonic is being surrounded by my colleagues who
are the most incredibly talented musicians
I've ever had the privilege of playing with.
And they're constantly inspiring me
to keep practicing, get better, understand more about music.
And I learn a lot from my colleagues.
Orin O'Brien has been and continues
to be a wonderful mentor.
And she's just an inspiration.
Not only to me, but to so many generations of bass players.
So it's been a privilege to study
with her and an extra privilege to sit alongside her
in the bass section.
It's a student's dream come true.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC]