Bios/c.v.

For a long bio click here.  For a 2010 c.v. click here.

You can also download the bios here:  Short bio, long bio, cv.

SHORT BIO:

Bassist Donovan Stokes enjoys a varied career of performing, composing, writing and teaching. Known for his use of amplification, EFX and loopers, his 2006 acoustic recording Gadaha garnered two JPF Music Award nominations and rankings, for Best Album and Best Instrumental Song. Described as a musician who “paints primary colours and subtle shades to considerable effect” (The Double Bassist), Stokes is also noted for his “eye-popping display of technical wizardry and showmanship” (Madison Jazz) who brings “the bass into yet another dimension of capabilities.” (Gary Karr) He has performed as a soloist and adjudicated competitions throughout the United States.

As a chamber musician he has had the honor of collaborating with wonderful musicians including the Fry Street Quartet, Agua Va!, members of the Audubon Quartet, Stuart Malina, Blanka Bednarz, John O’Connor and Seymour Lipkin. As a composer he has enjoyed recent commissions from Barry Green, Blanka Bednarz,The International Society of Bassists Young Bass Division, the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra and Jerry Fuller, among others. He also plays Rockabilly and Jazz in the Washington DC metro area.

Dr. Stokes earned degrees from Vanderbilt University (B.M.) and Indiana University in Bloomington (M.M. and D.M.), where his major bass instructors were Lawrence Hurst, and Edgar Meyer. He studied fiddle styles with Crystal Ploughman and Mark O’Connor, string pedagogy with Lawrence Hurst, Helga Winold, Inez Wyrick and Mimi Zweig, and composition with Michael Alec Rose, Michael Kurek and Mary Jeanne Van Appledorn. He is also the world’s leading expert in the life and work of bassist Rodion Azarkhin.

Stokes is currently an Associate Professor at Shenandoah University-Conservatorywhere he teaches classical and jazz upright bass, coaches chamber music and acts as head of the String Area. He also offers a range of online instruction in upright bass, alternative strings, chamber music and composition and has created anUpright Slap Bass Instructional Video available exclusively online. He is a Board Member-at Large and Editor of the Bass Forum for the Virginia String Teachers Association, member of the National Editorial Committee for American String Teachers Association and founder and Artistic Director of the non-profit Bass Coalition (www.basscoalition.com) and their Annual Bass Workshop.

Visit him on the web at www.donovanstokes.com