Orchestral Repertoire - Methodology, Philosophy, Auditions

Double bassist Linda McKnight has spent her life in the New York metropolitan area. She was born and raised in New Jersey, where her first bass teacher was Joseph Cascelli at Ridgewood public schools. She received her bachelor of music degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Frederick Zimmermann and Stuart Sankey, and pursued further bass studies with Henry Portnoi, Warren Benfield, and Homer Mensch.Ms. McKnight serves on the double bass faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, where she has taught since 1979 in the Precollege Division, and since 1987 in the College Division. Additional bass faculty affiliations include the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair (NJ) State University, and the summer Chamber Music Institute program sponsored by the NJ Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.Linda McKnight is an active orchestral and chamber musician and is a member of the Colonial Symphony of New Jersey and the St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She has also performed as a bass section substitute in the American Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the New Jersey State Opera, and the Opera Orchestra of New York, with whom she has recorded on the BIS-Sweden label. Ms. McKnight has given workshops for schools and music teachers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and has traveled summers to present masterclasses at ISB conventions, ASTA string conferences, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, and 2004 World Bass Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Ms. McKnight’s articles have been published in String Tones, Tempo, American String Teacher, and Bass World magazines, and she is the editor of Paul Ramsier’s Pieces for Friends, available through Boosey & Hawkes. Sought after as a clinician and adjudicator, Linda McKnight has received a number of awards for her contributions to the bass and music education.