James VanDemark
Professor of Double Bass
Co-Chair, Strings, Harp, and Guitar Department
BFA, SUNY-Buffalo. Studied with James Clute and Paul Katz; piano with Livingston Gearhart. First prize, Buffalo Philharmonic Young Artist Competition. Recipient of numerous commissioned works, including pieces by Joseph Schwantner, Gian-Carlo Menotti, Sydney Hodkinson, Christopher Rouse, Anthony Newman, and Jerod Tate. Commissioned and developed Circle of Faith-the Words of Seattle with Native American elders. Solo appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic, Atlantic Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New Mexico Symphony, Netherlands Radio Symphony, Heidelberg Festival Orchestra, L'Orchestre Symphonique du Quebec, Grant Park Symphony, National Symphony of Mexico, Rochester Philharmonic, and many others. Chamber music appearances with Yehudi Menuhin, Samuel Sanders, Alfred Brendel, Gary Graffman, the Czech (Prague) Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, Aspen Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Colorado Quartet, Guarneri Quartet, and Los Angeles Piano Quartet, Vienna Schubert Trio; duo recital appearances with André Watts, James Dick, and Anthony Newman. European debut, South Bank Music Festival, London (1977); subsequent recital tours in Europe. Appearances at Seattle Chamber Music, Spoleto, Round Top, Newport, White Mountain, South Bank, Cape and Islands, and Mostly Mozart festivals. Member, Aspen Festival Orchestra (1970-73); principal bass, Hamilton Philharmonic (1969-72) and Alexander Schneider's New York String Orchestra (1972). Recitals broadcast on Bavarian State Radio, SFB Berlin, Radio Ireland, and BBC. Recordings on Telarc, d'Note, Philips, Vox, and Musical Heritage. Artistic director, Music at the Gainey Center. Co-founder, Square Peg Productions, a film and television production company. Author/lyricist of Tabloids (a musical comedy). Faculty member, Eastman (1976-).
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