-
Ticket PriceFree
-
Duration1 hr
- Sunday, February 28, 2021 4:00PM — Online
DMSO at Home Family Concert: All About the Bass
Join Des Moines Sympony musicians Donita McCoy, Jason Wells, and Ashley Eidbo for a fun and educational concert all about the double bass - the largest instrument in the string family!
You'll learn about all the different sounds a bass can make, plus you'll hear the different styles of music that feature the bass. Our musicians will lead a fun and interactive activity that you can join using any instrument you have at home, or by getting your body ready for some movement! Enjoy fun songs, stories from our musicians, and more.
RSVP on Facebook for a reminder when we go live! You can also click through to the video on Facebook or YouTube, or watch right on our website.
DMSO at Home is a series of videos and streaming content aimed at connecting with our community online. Join us each Sunday evening on our social media channels for a series of live-streamed recitals from our Des Moines Symphony Musicians.
Like what you see? Help support our mission and future programming so we can make music together for years to come.
Donita McCoy Double Bass
Donita first began playing bass with the Des Moines Symphony as a student at Drake University where her scholarship was contingent on playing bass in the Symphony, though she was actually a cello major. She married a Des Moines Symphony bass player, Richard McCoy, who was getting his Master's Degree at Drake and who tells anyone who asks that they met "fiddling around in the back of the orchestra", and they spent nearly 50 years playing together in the Des Moines Symphony bass section. He logged in 52 years, and though he had a head start, the 20-21 season is Donita's 52nd season. Donita was sidetracked from finishing her degree at Drake, but when the youngest of her four children started school, she finished her music degree at Iowa State University.
Donita has taught elementary strings in Boone and Ames, but now teaches mostly piano in her home studio. She has been a member of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and its state affiliate Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA) as well as the local, Music Teachers of Central Iowa (MTCI) for over 30 years. where she has held many offices in MTCI, Vice president for Auditions, Ethical Concerns Committee Chair, President, and currently Parliamentarian in IMTA. In 2018 She was named an MTNA Foundation Fellow.
Jason Wells Double Bass
Jason Wells first picked up the double bass at age of 10, then started studying privately at 12. He graduated high school from Interlochen Arts Academy with a focus in music, then went on to DePaul University where he studied double bass performance with Robert Kassinger of the Chicago Symphony. After college, Jason decided to take a break from music for a number of years after suffering from a shoulder injury, but returned to music in 2016. He is now a full-time member of the Des Moines Symphony and subs with many other groups such as the Sioux City Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony. Jason spends a lot of his time teaching and does everything from private bass instruction to group workshops at various middle and high schools in the Twin Cities area where he lives. He also enjoys playing different genres such as jazz and bluegrass and is a former member of the progressive bluegrass band Barbaro.
Jason has been a member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra since 2018.
Ashley Eidbo Double Bass
A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Ashley Eidbo began playing the bass at age ten. She earned a bachelor of music degree from the University of Minnesota as a student of Chris Brown, and a master of music degree from Indiana University as a student of Lawrence Hurst. After noticing the musical instrument accessory market was lacking products specifically designed for double bassists, she started her own line of stool cushions and accessories. She currently resides in Coralville, Iowa.
