Double Bass
Clinton O’Brien is currently Principal Bass of the Portland Opera orchestra and Orchestra Nova Northwest, and Assistant Principal Bassist with the Vancouver Symphony in Washington. He is also a member of the Rogue Valley Symphony and Hood River Sinfonietta. Clinton appears as solo bass with the Portland based Porchello group and Third Dimension music festival in Astoria. He is also a substitute bassist with the Oregon, Spokane, Olympia and Yakima symphony orchestras. In the summer he has played with Oregon Coast Music Festival and the Sunriver Music Festival. Clinton attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of music. While studying at Oberlin he was appointed as 3rd chair bass with the Canton Symphony (OH). He plays an Alessandro Gagliano double bass made in 1713, generously on loan from Mr. Bill Ofstad.
The Double Bass section is sponsored by Slate & Davida Wilson.
The Double Bass section is sponsored by Slate & Davida Wilson.
Andrew Harmon is a double bass performer and teacher in the Portland area, where he plays with the Portland Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, and Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, among other ensembles. He joined Orchestra Nova Northwest (formerly Portland Columbia Symphony) in 2019. Before moving to Portland, Andrew was principal bass of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra from 2012–2015 and a member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (Springfield) from 2008-2015. He has also performed with the Rockford Symphony, Heartland Festival Orchestra, Opera Illinois, Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, Madison Symphony (WI) and International Beethoven Project. He has been a clinician with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (Portland), Vancouver Youth Chamber Orchestra, and the Vancouver and Lake Oswego school districts. A St. Louis native, Andrew studied with members of the St. Louis Symphony, Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera. He earned a B.A. in English and music from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a MA in the humanities from the University of Chicago. In his free time, Andrew enjoys hiking and biking with his wife and young daughter Estére.
The Double Bass section is sponsored by Slate & Davida Wilson.
Double bassist David Knaub grew up around the fringes of the Eastman School of Music where his father taught, and was babysat by some of the finest future brass players of the world. His long but narrow fingers and his orthodontist directed young David’s interests away from low brass and towards the double bass. “It’s kind of similar,” he says. “The pieces with really good trombone parts usually have really good bass parts too.”
Among his teachers have been bass players from the Rochester Philharmonic, New York City Ballet Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony. David performed seven seasons with the Houston Civic Symphony and the Houston Sinfonietta, and has played with Orchestra Nova Northwest (formerly Portland Columbia Symphony) since 1989. Demonstrating the versatility of the double bass, he has also played in a big band, a cowboy band, a blues band, and in pit orchestras for musicals.
David is a retired mechanical engineer and holds 43 patents. When not practicing, he enjoys biking, hiking, kayaking, and restoring an old house with his biggest fan, Katie.
David Knaub’s chair is sponsored by Katie Urey, in memory of Jack Urey.
The Double Bass section is sponsored by Slate & Davida Wilson.
The Double Bass section is sponsored by Slate & Davida Wilson.