Double Bass Classes
PYP’s Free Double Bass Class is sponsored in part by Kennedy Violins.
Open invitation to all interested students: Beginning and Advanced Beginning levels available, as well as a HIGH-SCHOOL ONLY group, for bassists already playing in their school ensembles!
Portland Youth Philharmonic is offering a FREE, in-person Double Bass Class that will be taught by bass players from the Oregon Symphony. This class is open not only to members of the PYP organization but also anyone who is interested in learning double bass, including students who already play bass guitar and want to explore upright bass. No experience is necessary to start, and participation in our ensembles is not required.
Watch one musician’s story of how the Bass Class helped her find her passion!
Our teaching team
- Kaden Henderson
Originally from New Albany, Indiana, Kaden Henderson is a double bassist with a passion for music education and outreach. Kaden began his studies while in middle school with Karl Olsen of the Louisville Orchestra and Doug Elmore. Kaden continued on to study with Bruce Bransby at Indiana University and later earned his Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degrees from Yale University under Don Palma. As a performer, Kaden has participated as a fellow in festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Chelsea Music Festival under Ken-David Masur, and many others. Kaden regularly appears as a bassist with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and various other orchestras around the country.
As a teacher and educator Kaden taught undergraduate bassists at Yale University and participated in Yale’s prestigious “Music in Schools” initiative to provide string lessons to students in and around New Haven, Connecticut. Kaden also works with “Musicians for the World”, a nonprofit that provides free lessons to students without access to musical education from around the globe.
Kaden currently resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Mariya who is an Oregon Symphony bassist.
- Mariya-Andoniya Andonova
Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Mariya-Andoniya holds degrees in double bass performance from The Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and Yale University School of Music. She has participated in summer festivals including The Perlman Music Program, Aspen Music Festival, The Music Academy of the West, The Tanglewood Music Center, and The Verbier Festival among others. Ms. Andonova was a tenured member of the Santa Barbara Symphony for three seasons and performed with the Oregon Symphony on a one-year contract for the 2021-2022 season before joining as a full-time member in the fall of 2022.
During the Covid pandemic, Mariya-Andoniya created a YouTube channel to promote herself as a female immigrant double bass player and as a creative outlet. Highlights of the channel include: #DropitlikeitsBach, a popular playlist made up of movements from all six Bach Cello Suites, and Per Questa by Mozart played with her husband and bassist, Kaden Henderson.
- Greg Dugan
Gregory Dugan became a member of the ISO bass section in 1979. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Murray Grodner. Prior to joining the ISO, he was principal contrabass with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Costa Rica.
Dugan has held a number of faculty teaching positions, including 30 years at DePauw University. He currently teaches in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra program, Anderson University and the MasterWorks Festival. He has performed as guest principal bass with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Shanghai Symphony, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and has been a substitute bassist with the Chicago Symphony and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In the summers he performs as principal bass in the Oregon Coast Music Festival, and in recent years has participated in the summer orchestra festival in Zhengzhou, China.
Dugan has received the ISO Patch Leadership Award, and in 2017 received the Alice D. Akins music education award from the ISO Learning Community. He and his wife, a microbiologist originally from Singapore, enjoy travelling- preferably by train- and exploring remote corners of his home state of Oregon.
What you need to know
- Who
Students between the grades of 3rd and 10th who have beginning to intermediate skills on the double bass. Brand new players are also welcome.
- When
Saturdays, 2:00-3:15 PM
Our fall term takes place September 20th-December 6th, 2025.
Our winter term takes place February 7th-April 25th, 2026
- Where
All classes are held at Jackson Middle School (10625 SW 35th Ave., Portland, OR 97219).
Please arrive 15 minutes early to set up your instrument and other materials.
- What students will need & What to expect
- 30 minutes to an hour to commit to practice every day
- Bass and Bow
- Rosin
Materials/literature will be distributed in the class. If finding a bass is a question, the shops below would be able to help you find the correct size bass to rent.
Local bass shops:
- Kennedy Violins - 800.779.0242
- Beacock Music - 360.694.7134
- Pete’s Bass Shop, Pete Lampe - 503.777.7027
More about the class, from Kaden Henderson:
“The PYP free bass class consists of three different groups to accommodate players at every level. Each class is structured as a group class run by one of our three teachers. We try our best to give general group feedback as well as provide one on one instruction when possible.
We strive to provide a supportive fun and low pressure environment for students to discover a passion for music and the double bass.
We all cater our classes to the level of the students in them so music ranges from scales and exercises to orchestral excerpts. Generally speaking, students never play solo unless they ask to do so themselves. Even in our recitals we get up and play as a group together—teachers included!
The bass recitals are very informal and are to showcase a few of the skills we have been working on together. Each groups “recital” is usually about 5 minutes long and is performed for the bass class families and maybe a couple of PYP faculty like Mr. Hatter and Mrs. Inés. We have occasionally had students who wanted to play solo and we have accommodated that as well! After our brief recital we all pack our basses and have a little party with yummy snacks and drinks for everyone.”
- Apply
Click here to fill out and submit an application.
Note: Students are welcome to join throughout the term, but the best benefit will be gained by all if they join at the beginning and attend all the classes.
For any questions, please contact Maluhia Ose, Community Engagement Coordinator: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
- Bass Class Online
Below is where we will keep links for the online content created for the Free Double Bass Class. Enjoy!