Robert Nash

Dr. Nash’s performing career as a double bassist and electric bassist encompasses a wide variety of traditional and contemporary musical genres. As a concert musician, he has served as Principal Bass of the Louisiana Sinfonietta (1995–2004) and section member of the Baton Rouge Symphony (1990–1992), as well as frequently substituting with the Louisiana Philharmonic, New Orleans Opera, Pensacola Opera and numerous other regional orchestras and opera companies. He has also presented solo recitals and participated in many chamber performances in venues throughout the Gulf Coast. Popular performers he has accompanied include Gov. Jimmie Davis, Aaron Neville, Marvin Hamlisch, Regis Philbin, and Tommy Tune. In addition, he continues to work with various jazz and improvising colleagues on unclassifiable new material and contemporary pedagogical approaches.

As a teacher, he has been a faculty member at LSU (1994–1997) and UL Lafayette (1994–2002) as well as maintaining an active private studio. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, where his major teachers were Julius Levine and Kirk B. Smith; a Bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, including study with Orin O’Brien; and the DMA degree in double bass performance from Louisiana State University, where he studied with Dr. William Grimes. A native of Cincinnati, OH and longtime resident of Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Nash has resided in Baton Rouge since 1990.