Robert Kassinger was appointed to the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra in 1993. Prior to Chicago, Kassinger performed as assistant
principal bass with the Colorado Symphony and also played with the New Orleans
Symphony.
In addition to his busy schedule with the
Orchestra, he is an active chamber musician. Kassinger performs with the
Revolution Ensemble, the Orion Ensemble, Fulcrum Point, Ars Viva, Music of the
Baroque, the Callisto Ensemble, MusicNow and broadcasts on WFMT and WTTW. He
has been a featured guest with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and has performed
Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Daniel
Barenboim. Recently Rob has performed Bottesini’s B minor concerto with the
DePaul Chamber Orchestra, and he has been featured as soloist and clinician at
the Arizona Double Bass Conference, International Society of Bassists and Boulder Bass Festival.
Kassinger grew up in a family of musicians in
Boulder, Colorado. He began his bass studies with Frank Carroll at the
University of Colorado. In 1985, he moved to New York to study with Homer
Mensch at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received his Bachelor of
Music degree. Kassinger then pursued his master’s degree at the Juilliard School,
continuing his studies with Mensch. He later went on to study with Bruce
Bransby at Indiana University.
Some of Kassingers most influential experiences as
a student were his two years as principal bass of the New York String Orchestra
Seminar, conducted by Alexander Schneider, and the two summers he spent as a
fellowship student at the Aspen Music Festival, studying with Stuart Sankey and
Bruce Bransby. In 1989, Kassinger was the winner of the Aspen Double Bass
Competition.
Kassinger’s experience as a jazz performer dates
back to his early teens, working in the house rhythm section at the infamous
Denver jazz club El Chapultapec, and over the years he has performed with
Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Burrell, the Woody Herman band, Conte
Candoli, Charlie Rouse, Teddy Edwards, Harold Land, Red Holloway, Charles
Brown, Art Lande, Richard Stoltzman, Gary Burton, Alex Acuna, Laurence Hobgood and Bobby Lewis. Rob has toured India with the Chicago Jazz Express and can be
heard on their recordings Voyage to Indi
and The Rhythm Section. He also
appears on Bobby Lewis’s CD Just Havin’ Some
Fun, Daniel Barenboim’s Brazilian
Rhapsody and Kabbalah Blues/Quantum
Funk by the Revolution Ensemble. Kassinger’s various other projects have
given him a chance to spend more time with the bass guitar. His alternative
rock group NYCO has released the albums Two
and Realize, available at iTunes. He
also appears with the group Liquid Soul and was proud to perform on Robert
Irving III’s Sketches of Brazil.
Kassinger is professor of double bass at DePaul
University in addition to being a guest instructor at Indiana University. He is
in demand as a coach and master clinician, serving in this capacity for the
Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. It was Kassinger’s honor to
teach at the West-Eastern Divan Workshop, a groundbreaking workshop that brings
young musicians from Israel and various Arab countries together to study
orchestral music with Daniel Barenboim, Yo-Yo Ma and members of the CSO,
Berlin Philharmonic and Staatskapelle Berlin. Additionally, Kassinger served as
bass coach at the Canton International Summer Music Academy, under the
direction of Charles Dutoit, in Guangzhou, China.
Kassinger lives in the Lincoln Square neighborhood
with his wife, violinist Carmen Llop Kassinger, and their two daughters. Rob is
an avid bicyclist and loves riding to Symphony Center in all weather
conditions.
September 2009
