Music Makers:
Interview With SRS Principal Bass Randy Keith

Randall Keith serves as principal bassist with the Santa Rosa Symphony, assistant principal bass with the Modesto and Fresno Orchestras, and section bass with the Oakland Symphony. He has performed with the San Francisco Ballet, Chanticleer Men's Choir, Marin, San Jose and California symphonies to name a few. He is also the leader of the Santa Rosa Symphony String Quintet, which performs in schools throughout the Bay Area.

Keith has been involved with the production of many recordings, most recently with his jazz group, The Dmitry Greenberg Trio and has participated in music festivals up and down the California coast. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has studied with S. Charles Siani, Steve Tramontozzi and most recently, Joe Lescher (principal bass of the San Francisco Opera).

In addition to his commitment as an artist, Keith participates behind the scenes. Currently, he is the Union Steward of the Fresno Philharmonic, a member of the Player's Committee in the Modesto Symphony, Chairman of the Artistic Review Committee and alternate ROPA delegate (Regional Orchestra Players Association) for the Santa Rosa Symphony. He has also been a leader on the Player's Committee of SRS for the majority of his career in Santa Rosa.

Before we talk about your passion for music and the instrument you play, tell me about your organizational activities for the various symphonies you are involved with, and your advocacy work for the players.

My first experience on a players committee was about four years after I came to the Santa Rosa Symphony in 1985. At that time I hadn't had much organizational experience, but I thought I could be of service. I got the musicians to make a list of the issues within the orchestra, and we started re-working the contract from day one. I lasted for about 15 years on that committee, and was the chair for the last 10. Over that period, I was actively involved in sitting down with management and negotiating four different contracts.

I'm no longer on the players committee, but I was recently elected to the artistic review committee which is in charge of selecting the audition panel, the tenure review and peer review panel. We have a lot of work to do. I've always been of the opinion that as many people as possible should be involved in the inner workings of the orchestra so they can understand what it takes for a musical association to be successful.

When did you start playing music, and why did you choose your particular instrument?

When I was about 10, my older brother was playing electric guitar and that "infected" me. After trying and failing several times, I finally learned the guitar and we formed a garage band—three guitars and a drummer. We figured out there was something wrong with that configuration! Because I was the youngest, they insisted I take the two top strings off my guitar and call it a bass. That was my first bass.

Eventually I bought a real electric bass and we played Beatles, Monkees, the Doors, Rolling Stones—all rock and roll. I didn't begin in a youth orchestra with classical music. As our band evolved musically, we played more fusion, and at the time, Chick Corea was a big influence. That led me in the direction of jazz. I listened to Miles Davis, Weather Report, and all the jazz greats. I heard Paul Chambers playing the double bass and bowing his solos, and thought he was phenomenal. This combination of factors made me want to be a jazz musician.

Charles Siani at San Francisco State had been recommended to me as a great teacher of the double bass. When I began studying with him, he took me under his wing and showed me how wonderful classical music was. From that point on, slowly and surely, I started to move toward classical music. But what finally took my career in a different direction was a serious bout of tendonitis in my thumb. The tendonitis and complications kept me from playing for nearly three months. When I broke down physically, I realized that I didn't have the time or health to play both jazz and orchestra, and I had to choose. So the decision to go with classical music was made.

I auditioned for the San Francisco Conservatory, and they accepted me. There I was with Siani for a year and a half until he retired.

I've heard many names for the instrument that looks like a giant violin: upright bass, contrabass, etc. Can you explain what the names represent?

They are all the same instrument. It's a little like the words "philharmonic," "symphony," "orchestra." It depends on the context. Bass fiddle is what the country music people call it; still the same instrument, but set up differently, usually with older metal strings that give a "twangier" sound. Contrabass is a German or European term. Upright bass (or stand-up bass) is more of a jazz term. Double bass is a term that's been around a long time; it means the instrument that doubles at the octave the continuo, often the cello or bassoon or harpsichord in Baroque music.

How do you see your role as a principal player?

A "principal" of any section is a leader of a group of people; I'm the leader of a group of six bass players including myself. My job is to coordinate all of the bowings with the orchestra, determine the length of bow stroke, basically to determine how we're going to play. I point out the ensemble adjustments that need to be made. If someone is not living up to the standards of the section, it's the principal's job to communicate with that person. If the section has questions, itâs my job to know the answer or to ask the conductor and other instrumentalists. I'm almost like the union steward for the Santa Rosa bass section!

I notice that you were the musician representative on the conductor search committee at the Fresno Symphony. Do you have any comments about our upcoming selection of a successor to Jeffrey Kahane? It's a tough thing to do. As hard as we work and as conscientious as we try to be, you only have a short time to evaluate. If you had to make a decision on a marriage relationship and only had one week to do it, it would be very difficult to decide, and yet, thatâs what we need to do. I'm hopeful because I've always been a believer that the consciousness of the whole group will dictate who comes into the group. I really feel that we're going to get a music director who will keep leading us forward.