Bretschger, Fred

Double-bassist from New York who started out on bass when he was sixteen and attended the Cleveland Institute, Juilliard, the New York String Orchestra Seminar and the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Groups with whom he has worked include the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Houston Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Spectrum Contemporary Ensemble and Strings in the Mountains.

On 21^st October 1996, the Chicago Chamber Musicians took the stage in DePaul University Concert Hall where they interpreted “Octet in F, Op. 166” and “Quintet, Op. 114” (“Trout”) by Franz Schubert.

Fred and pianist Joy Michele Cline and flautist Carol Wincenz performed Andrea Jane Clearfield’s “Spirit Island” at the Sarasota Music Festival on 18^th June 1998.

On 11^th July 1999, he recorded his own “Fantasy Duo for Cello and Double Bass” with Emilio Colon in Auer Concert Hall at Indiana University.

He conducted The Soldier’s Tale by Igor Stravinsky at the Cactus Pear Festival in San Antonio, Texas, in 2000.

In 2001, Jeanne published his recordings of “3: 4, 5” by Judith Lang Zaimont and “Quintet, Op. 39” by Serge Prokofiev.

The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society offered up Antonin Dvorak’s “Quintet” and Ervin Schulhoff’s “Concertino” at the Opera House in Stoughton, Wisconsin, on 6^th August 2004.

On 17^th June 2005, Fred participated in the Keowee Chamber Music Festival in Ashville, North Carolina. He performed in his own arrangements of Manuel de Falla’s “Seven Popular Spanish Songs”, “Music for a While” by Henry Purcell, and eleven of the “44 Violin Duos” by Bela Bartok.

The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society appeared at the Taliesin-Hillside Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin, on 25^th June 2006. Their program comprised The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla and “100 Roses: Seven Neapolitan Serenades and Dances” by Daniel Paget.

On 25^th September 2007, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra performed the “Linz” symphony of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

They were at Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ on 13^th December 2009, where they recorded “Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, BWV 1049” and “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D, BWV 1050” by Johann Sebastian Bach.

On 16^th May 2010, cellist David Goldblatt and bassist Scott Pingel performed Fred’s “Fantasy Duo” at the Crowden School in Berkeley, California.

Recordings on which Fred appears include Ives/Schulhoff/Dvorak: Chamber Works, The Mando Chronicles by Peter Ostroushko and 7 Song Cycle: McNally Smith Faculty Recording Project.

In the field of music education, he has given master classes and served on the faculties of the Sarasota Music Festival and the Summer String Academy at Indiana University.

Sources:

Bretschger, Fred

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