Born in New York, double bassist Kevin Schmidt embarked on his musical journey on the violin, until better judgement brought him to the luxurious low tones of the bass. He began studying with jazz bassist Cameron Brown, who instilled the fundamentals of the instrument into him and sparked his interest in becoming a musician. Former New York Philharmonic bassist William Blossom later introduced Kevin to the vast world of orchestral repertoire, which has captivated him since. He would go on to attain his bachelor and master degrees in music performance from State Unviersity of New York at Purchase College, Manhattan School of Music, and Bard College. Today, Kevin is an active performer, appearing regularly in various ensembles such as The Orchestra Now, New York Classical Players, New York Festival Orchestra, Symphony of Westchester, Garden State Philharmonic, Empire Chamber Orchestra, and Astoria Symphony. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Windscape, Eleva Chamber Players, Atempo Chamber Ensemble, and the CMD-E ensemble. One of his recent engagements include the Budapest Festival Orchestra in David Geffen Hall. Outside of the United States, Kevin has served as principal bass with the Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal, Quebec. He also performed in Austria at the AIMS Graz Opera Festival last year. Kevin owes his achievements to his two main teachers, Timothy Cobb, Principal Bass of the New York Philharmonic, and Leigh Mesh, Associate Principal Bass of the Metropolitan Opera. He is also grateful to have participated in masterclasses with Thomas Martin, Scott Pingel, Jeff Turner, Enrico Fagone, as well as Ira Gold and Paul DeNola at the DCBass workshop. As an educator, Kevin has maintained a young bass studio in Rockland County, NY and has given masterclasses in Long Island, NY. He has been a substitute bass professor at The New School’s Mannes Preparatory Division, as well as a mentor at Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division.