Author - Bruce Ridge

Double bassist Bruce Ridge, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987. He began his professional career when he joined the Virginia Symphony at the age of 15. Ridge later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance honors. He has performed at Tanglewood, Interlochen, and the Grand Teton Festival, and with the orchestras of Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Honolulu.

Believed to be just the second musician from an ICSOM orchestra to chair a music director search, Ridge led the committee that brought Grant Llewellyn to the North Carolina Symphony. He has served as chair of the North Carolina Symphony Players’ Association, on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. He has also served as a faculty member for several sessions of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Orchestra Leadership Academy.

Ridge’s double bass teachers include Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony, and the late Roger Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also performs on the bass guitar and solo jazz bass for the North Carolina Symphony’s Pops series.

Double bassist Bruce Ridge, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1987. He began his professional career when he joined the Virginia Symphony at the age of 15. Ridge later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance honors. He has performed at Tanglewood, Interlochen, and the Grand Teton Festival, and with the orchestras of Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, and Honolulu.

Believed to be just the second musician from an ICSOM orchestra to chair a music director search, Ridge led the committee that brought Grant Llewellyn to the North Carolina Symphony. He has served as chair of the North Carolina Symphony Players’ Association, on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a member of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. He has also served as a faculty member for several sessions of the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Orchestra Leadership Academy.

Ridge’s double bass teachers include Lawrence Wolfe of the Boston Symphony, and the late Roger Scott of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also performs on the bass guitar and solo jazz bass for the North Carolina Symphony’s Pops series.