Prior to joining the National Symphony Orchestra in 2005, Ira Gold performed with several American orchestras, as Section Bass with the Minnesota Orchestra and as guest Principal Bassist with the San Francisco Symphony and Detroit Symphony. He was recently named Principal Bass of the Bellingham Festival of Music for the summer of 2024. Mr. Gold has been on Faculty at the Peabody Conservatory since 2009, and was recently appointed Associate Professor of Double Bass, where he teaches private lessons, orchestral repertoire classes, masterclasses, and coaches chamber music.
In addition to regular visits to The Colburn School, he has presented masterclasses and recitals throughout the United States and abroad, including The Moscow State Conservatory, University of Southern California, The Juilliard School, Boston University, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The Manhattan School of Music, and the International Society of Bassists Convention. He currently spends his summers teaching at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Bass Works, DCBass, and Bass Club in London. Mr. Gold was previously faculty at Catholic University of America, and performed the Vanhal Bass Concerto at Carnegie Hall with the CUA Symphony Orchestra in 2011.
Mr. Gold has been interviewed multiple times by Jason Heath for the podcast Contrabass Conversations, and also wrote the foreword to Jason’s book, Winning the Audition. He has published multiple articles for the ISB’s journal Bass World, and also was featured on the podcast Mind over Finger, in 2020.
An active chamber musician, Mr. Gold has performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the NSO Millenium Stage Prelude Series, Peabody Conservatory Faculty, and the New Orchestra of Washington. He has attended festivals such as Grand Teton Music Festival, Domaine Forget Music Academy, Round Top, Aspen, and Tanglewood.
Mr. Gold earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, and his Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he won the strings division of the 2005 Concerto Competition. His primary teachers include Edwin Barker, Paul Ellison, Dennis Whittaker, and Mark Shapiro, and additional studies with Albert Laszlo, Kenneth Harper, Timothy Pitts, and Harry Lantz.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Mr. Gold now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with wife and violist Heidi Remick, daughters Lena and Frances, and Hamish, their 2 year old dog. His favorite hobbies are running and cycling, cooking, and doing puzzles.
Ira Gold