520: Leon Bosch on getting things done

One of my all-time favorite podcast guests is Leon Bosch, and it was great to get a chance to sit down with him in person at the 2018 European Bass Congress and dig into some deep topics. Leon is the former principal bass for Academy of St Martin in the Fields and has put out an astounding amount of albums and other projects since retiring from this group a few years ago.

This interview covers a lot of ground and is filled with useful information like:

• Leon’s “accelerated learning” approach to practicing
• daily routines
• his research process on repertoire
• conducting
• balancing projects
• how to accomplish projects of significance

...and much more!

We reference this recent MozartCircle feature on Leon, and it’s a great way to get a glimpse into the work that he’s doing. Be sure to follow along with him on his website, and check out his past podcast appearance here!

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Robertson & Sons Violins

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Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

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Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
• Krista Kopper, archival and cataloging

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