I was driving from Santa Cruz to San Jose with Barry Green recently.  We were talking about folks I should connect with for the podcast, and Eric Hansen was the first person Barry suggested.  Eric teaches bass at Brigham Young University and is the former principal bassist of the Winnipeg Symphony.   Eric and I met in person for the first time in December of 2017 at the Midwest Clinic. He’s great guy with a fascinating musical background, and I had a blast chatting with him about all kinds of topics like: how he got into conducting ways in which conducting has informed his bass playing studying with Eugene Levinson, Audrey Bush, and Hal Robinson what motivates students   This is a fun and spirited conversation, and I know you’ll enjoy spending this time with Eric and learning about his unique path through the music world!   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Upton Bass String Instrument Company Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players. D'Addario Strings This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.   A440 Violin Shop An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools. Contrabass Conversations production team: Jason Heath, host Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing Mitch Moehring, audio engineer Trevor Jones, publication and promotion Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!