Donald Palma
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Donald Palma is a prominent classical double bassist, conductor, bass instructor, and educator of ensemble performance. He is a native of New York City, and is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Mr. Palma studied with several noted bassists including Frederick Zimmermann, Robert Brennand, Orin O'Brien, and Homer Mensch.
[edit] Double Bass
At twenty years of age, Donald Palma became a member of Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of twenty-four. Mr. Palma is a founding member of the prestigious Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He is a noted chamber musician, having performed with the Nash Ensemble, Juilliard Quartet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Da Camera Society of Houston, and Speculum Musicae, and has appeared in recital with such noted artists as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Jan DeGaetani and Jorge Bolet. Mr. Palma is also the former principal bassist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada.
[edit] Conducting
Donald Palma frequently conducts ensembles at the New England Conservatory of Music and is both a bassist and conductor with Speculum Musicae. Mr. Palma is the former music director for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, which was awarded won two ASCAP-Chamber Music America Awards for adventurous programming during his tenure. Mr. Palma is the new conductor of Symphony by the Sea, performing in Salem and Newbury, MA, beginning with the 2008-2009 season.
[edit] Teaching
Mr. Palma is the Director of Orchestras, the Director of Chamber Orchestra, a member of the faculty for double bass instruction, and a chamber music coach at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and a faculty member at Yale School of Music in New Haven, Connecticut. He has held master classes worldwide, including the Hartt School, Rice University, the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, and the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan. Many of Mr. Palma's double bass students are featured members of orchestras and ensembles worldwide.
