Doug Balliett
Narrator

Doug Balliett began playing the bass at age 12 and has been composing music for almost as long. As a bass player he has earned fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Luzern Academy. Mr. Balliett has played tours as the solo bass player for the Frankfurt-based new music group Ensemble Modern, as well as playing in the Ensemble Modern Orchestra under Pierre Boulez.

He currently works as assistant principal of the San Antonio Symphony, a post he won in 2004 at age 21. In 2007 he graduated from Harvard magna cum laude. Mr. Balliett received the Kirkland House Music Award, several music-based scholarships, as well as the first annual artist development grant for production of his thesis, The Retelling. While at Harvard Mr. Balliett was active as a recitalist and composer, highlights including the premiere of Carson Cooman's Foresight Spinning for bass and ensemble with the Fromm Players; composing music for three Shakespeare plays (As You Like It, Love's Labours Lost, and Cymbeline); and an acclaimed performance of Hindemith's Sonata in Robert Levin's chamber music course.

As a champion of new and re-imagined music Mr. Balliett has started a series of House Concerts in San Antonio, working closely with artists such as conductor/singer Ken-David Masur and composers P. Kellach Waddle and Elliot Cole. His compositions have been heard in Boston, New York, Colorado, and all over Texas. Works in progress include a bass quartet and Dichterlieb-alive. Mr. Balliett has been featured on San Antonio radio multiple times; in 2008 he gave a live recital on KPAC's "Classical Spotlight", he spoke on KZEP Classic Rock about the relationship between classical and rock music, and in 2009 his song cycle Alcestis was featured on KRTU. Doug's interest in music encompasses many genres. He is passionate about recording at home, and he can be heard rapping on the album The Oracle Hysterical, which has been featured on Alex Ross's blog and was required listening in a Songwriting course at Northwestern University.

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