Shepherd School bassists take top honors
Ellison’s students best in show at biennial competition

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Last month, two bassists from Rice’s Shepherd School of Music took top prizes in the 2009 International Society of Bassists Double Bass Competition, the field’s most prestigious competition. Shawn Conley ’05 earned first place in the jazz division and Kevin Brown, a Baker College senior, placed first in the orchestra division. Both studied under Paul Ellison, the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Double Bass and chair of strings.

“This is the most important event of its kind in the bassist world,” Ellison said. “It’s similar to an athlete who wins the Heisman. These prizes are as important as they get.”

For Conley, Ellison was the draw to the Shepherd School. Before bass entered his life, Conley, like many other Hawaiian boys, wanted to be a professional surfer. He attended orchestra classes but never had much enthusiasm for playing until he heard the bass. In 1997 he went to a bass convention at Rice and heard Ellison.

That was it for the would-be surfer. He was hooked on the sound. He convinced his parents to buy him a bass and didn’t look back. While still in high school he won a position with the Honolulu Symphony. He also took an opportunity to see Ellison during a summer music festival. When it came time to consider colleges, there wasn’t a question in his mind.

“I wanted to study with Paul,” Conley said. “He might not remember the first time I met him, but I do. He made a lasting impression on me.”

Conley is thankful that the bass led him to Ellison and Rice. In addition to earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he met people who impacted his music.

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“I came to learn from Paul, but I also found all these other great people. My classmates, the other professors, just the whole environment at Rice,” Conley said. “It’s a competitive place, sure. But in the Shepherd School, especially in bass, everybody is cool. It’s not about competition. It’s about hanging out and learning from one another. We work together.”

Conley took traits from his Shepherd School colleagues with him as he took the stage for the International Society of Bassists competition. Though the styling — jazz — was different from the classical music he was accustomed to, Conley won the prestigious Scott LaFaro Prize. In addition to prize money and an amplifier from Acoustic Image, Conley earned the coveted expenses-paid concert appearance to open the society’s 2011 biennial convention.

This summer, Conley has been working as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, which Brown is attending. The two share more than a talent for bass.

“My work at the Shepherd School with Paul has been the basis of what I have been doing for the past two years and is what has brought me to the level that I’m at,” Brown said.

After besting the record-breaking field of 50 entries, Brown earned a week’s paid internship with the Philadelphia Orchestra and received a bow from Carbow of Marseille, France.

“When I took the stage, I just tried to eliminate my ego. I didn’t want to ‘play better’ than the other players; I just wanted to play music,” Brown said. “Performing doesn’t make me as nervous if I don’t feel like I have something to prove. I had an attitude that whatever happened was going to happen, and I was prepared well enough that even if some things went wrong, I could still make a presentable showing.”

A bass player since he was 3, Brown prepared for this specific competition at home, though he worked on the repertoire with Ellison. He played it for other teachers and classmates at the Shepherd School. Brown said the school’s collegiality is one of the best things about his Rice experience.

“Typically in music school, you get one lesson with your teacher per week, and an unbelievable amount of growth comes out of those lessons,” Brown said. “But that’s one hour a week. The rest of the time, you’re kind of on your own, and at Rice, I feel like I’m really not.”

Brown has valued his time in the Shepherd School orchestra under the direction of Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestra Conducting.

“Rice is a great place to be as a student because there are a lot of resources available,” Brown said. “There are lots of great classes in the school at large, and the ensemble opportunities are amazing along with the faculty.”