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Double Bass Dr. Mark Morton to Texas Tech!

T

TomGale

Jul 31, 2005
365
3
89
Disclosures
American School of Double Bass
#1
I posted this where nobody saw it. My bad (what does that exactly mean?)

I believe its official - Mark will be the full time bass instructor at Texas Tech beginning in the Fall of 2008! Excellent addition for T.T. and the S.W. US.

Tom Gale
asodb.com:hyper:
 
#2
....And a sad and awful loss for us here in the Land of Cows. The quick and nasty demise of our Orchestra makes me very sad. Dr. Morton's community contribution here has been very large and his absence will be felt for quite some time.
 
#4
Makes me wonder what happened to Paul Sharpe...I liked that guy a lot, and he was good...but not Mark Morton good. I think the 5 hour drive from Oklahoma City will be worth it for a lesson from time to time with the Doc!
 
#5
As a former Lubbockite, I wish him the best of luck, and recommend Tom and Bingo's BBQ for lunch, J&M BBQ for dinner, Durango's for Mexican food, and hope he's ready to drive out to the strip to buy alkeehol. Bring a dust mask.
 
#8
TomGale said:
I posted this where nobody saw it. My bad (what does that exactly mean?)

I believe its official - Mark will be the full time bass instructor at Texas Tech beginning in the Fall of 2008! Excellent addition for T.T. and the S.W. US.

Tom Gale
asodb.com:hyper:
Click to expand...

!!!!

Good move by Texas Tech. I wish music academe made decisions like this more often and filled their faculty ranks with proven performers/teachers like Mark Morton.
 
#9
Uncletoad said:
....And a sad and awful loss for us here in the Land of Cows. The quick and nasty demise of our Orchestra makes me very sad. Dr. Morton's community contribution here has been very large and his absence will be felt for quite some time.
Click to expand...

Hey Toad, what's happening to the CSO?

It used to sound great ten years ago, there was an exciting Italian conductor and the bass section was wonderful.
 
#10
Dr Rod said:
Hey Toad, what's happening to the CSO?

It used to sound great ten years ago, there was an exciting Italian conductor and the bass section was wonderful.
Click to expand...
They are experiencing a huge financial shortfall and the community is not picking them up. The board has recommended a huge downsizing, reducing the salaried players from somewhere around 50 to 20 or 25. As can be expected the musicians are revolting. The community newspapers are sheding light but nobody is stepping up.

Dr. Morton appears to be the first of what I assume are many who are getting out of Dodge before the thing gets any worse. Most of the principals have good enough cred to score gigs that are stable elsewhere. I expect them to move on regardless of what the board does. I'd bail out myself if I was riding in a ship that could sink any minute.

The saddest part for me is in the last 10 years or so they have done some incredible playing. Just earlier this month they did Mahler's 2nd to two packed houses. The performances were stunning and passionate. They are no Cleveland but they certainly moved me. The current music director Junichi Hirokami is fantastic.

We'll see what they do from here. They have released what appears to be a truncated Classical season for 08/09 but there are still excellent pieces on the list including a night of Mark Morton solo Bass work with the full orchestra.
 
#11
Uncletoad said:
The board has recommended a huge downsizing, reducing the salaried players from somewhere around 50 to 20 or 25.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear all that, what a tragedy !


Of course, the musicians always pay for the management's mistakes.

Broadly generalizing, and not wanting to offend anyone, North American orchestras mirror somewhat our own behavior as irresponsible consumers, loaded up in debt, overspending, not saving for a rainy day etc...
In our town, the orchestra has been bailed out so many times that it may take a while to rebuild our image.
Our new manager has balanced our budget with nothing but a careful attitude towards spending.

Sorry to have pulled the thread off topic.
 
#12
It's also a reflection of community value too. The OSU buckeyes get more than their share of community dollars. More is spent on opulent one night parties that I play gigs at than the salaries of 5 or 6 of the musicians for a year.

The shortsightedness won't hit people here until they go to the Nutcracker and hear a terrible sound from the pit or worse yet recorded music. When their children show proficiency in a classical instrument and they go look for teachers they'll find nobody around with strong skills to teach their children. Heavy artists that require an in house orchestra (like the last time Pavarotti came to town) will find those artists bypassing our burg for Cleveland or Cincinnati.

And so Guitar Hero will become an art form.
 
#13
Uncletoad said:
....And a sad and awful loss for us here in the Land of Cows. The quick and nasty demise of our Orchestra makes me very sad. Dr. Morton's community contribution here has been very large and his absence will be felt for quite some time.
Click to expand...

His wife, Wendy Morton - associate principal cellist - is also a great loss.
Tom Gale
 
#16
I have the answer! Simply change the orchestra's name to the "Ohio Buckeye Symphony", show Ohio State football reruns during intermission and have the players dressed in numbered jerseys ("Starting on principal bass, #32! - Dr. Mark Morton! YEA!!). I think its just what Columbus seems to want.
Tom Gale:hmm:
 
#18
Between Ellison in Houston, Bradetich and Lynn Seaton @ UNT, and Daxun just up the road at UT and now Morton in Lubbock...Jeez, I need to hit the woodshed more, these college kids are gonna be smokin' me. Or... I could just go on a "Great Bass Pedagog" tour of Texas this summer. That could be fun...
 

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