The Four Basses

double bass quartet

This ensemble of bassist came together initially to record Elena Kats-Chernin’s quartet for Tall Poppies. They gave their first public performance at the 2007 Arts in the Valley Festival.
Kees Boersma joined the Sydney Symphony as Principal Bass in 1990. As well as his work within the orchestra he has featured as a soloist on a number of occasions. Performances have included the Colin Bright Double Bass Concerto, the Dittersdorf Divertimento for Viola and Double Bass and the Bottesini Double Concerto for two Double Basses and orchestra.
Kees was a founding member of the Brisbane based contemporary music group Elision, premiering the works of Franco Donatoni, Richard Barrett, Lisa Lim and Brian Ferneyhough. With Elision he has recorded several CD’s and undertaken concert tours to Italy and Germany. Kees performs and records with the Sydney Soloists, a chamber ensemble made up of Sydney Symphony musicians.
Additional chamber music performances include regular appearances with the Australian Ensemble as well as touring for Musica Viva Australia.
After studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, Kees travelled to his birthplace in the Netherlands to undertake post-graduate studies at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. He consequently performed for two years with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, with concerts at the Salzburg Festival, the BBC Proms London and tours to Montreaux, Lucerne, Paris, Vienna and Berlin.
Kees plays on a double bass made by John Lott Snr, London, circa 1810.

Damien Eckerlsey studied at the Canberra School of Music With Max McBride, graduating in 2001 with First Class honours, the Concerto prize and The Director’s prize for outstanding contribution to the school. He undertook a short period of study with Prof. Johannes Auersperg in Vienna before returning to Australia to take up a contract as acting principal bass with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
In 2003 Damien returned to Vienna to study with Prof. Tim Dunnin, and while in Austria performed with a number of orchestras and chamber ensembles including the NTK Orchestra as Associate Principal, Guest Principal with the Wienner Kammerorchester, Linz based new music group Ensemble Danube, and the Graz and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras.
Damien returned to Australia in 2005 to take up a one year contract with the Sydney Symphony and since then has also played with The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Sydney Philharmonia and the Seymore Group. Between 2000 and 2005, Damien was involved with the Australian Youth Orchestra, appearing as Principal Bass every year in a number of international tours and Australian seasons. He has also appeared as a soloist with orchestra around Australia, Austria and Germany.

Born in England in 1966, Alex Henery’s family moved Australia in 1979. He studied the bass at the Sydney Conservatorium from 1985 to 1986 before moving to New York, and later Boston. In 1989, Alex Henery returned to the UK where he began his professional career, working initially with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He was offered the position of Co-Principal Bass in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1990 and, in 1992, took up the Co-Principal position with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.
During his time in London, Alex Henery was a regular Guest Principal with the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and many of London’s Chamber orchestras.
Since 1998, Alex has been Principal Double Bass with the Sydney Symphony orchestra, and bass teacher at the Sydney Conservatorium. He has performed regularly as a soloist in various music festivals, including performances with the Sydney Symphony of Bottesini’s double concerto (Passione Amorosa) with his colleague Kees Boersma.

Kirsty McCahon has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a bass player, fulfilling roles as orchestral musician, specialist in both contemporary music and early music. Initial studies were in Melbourne at the Victorian College of the Arts, a period in which she performed regularly with the Melbourne Symphony and was the bassist with Australia’s premiere contemporary music ensemble, ELISION.
Kirsty’s interest in contemporary music led to studies in Paris with Ensemble Intercontemporaine’s Marc Marder, and performances as soloist in Ensemble Itineraire’s 1990 tour of Europe.
Kirsty has played Principal Double Bass with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra since 1997. Specialising in baroque and classical music, her research has led to studies and performances in the UK and the Netherlands. She has performed, toured and recorded with such highly regarded groups as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique and Les Talens Lyrique.
In 2000 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for further study into early music on the double bass and violone.
In Australia she performs with ensembles as diverse as the Australian Ensemble, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and is bassist with the exciting new opera company Pinchgut..
Kirsty enjoys being regularly involved as teacher, mentor and bass tutor for the Australian Youth Orchestra, and has for the last two seasons been a double bass tutor at the annual National Music Camps.