ach summer, starting on the first Monday in July, Gary Karr presides over a four-week intensive course of doublebass playing. It is held on the beautiful campus of the University of Victoria where all participants are housed in single rooms in a luxurious dormitory.

The classes are held daily from 9am to 4pm beginning with 90 minutes of focused exercises, which reflect Karr's approach to playing. After a short interval, Karr then listens to individual participants until lunch at 1pm. Harmon Lewis, Gary's partner, is always available to play the piano parts whenever needed. Then the lessons (master class style) continue for another hour or more, followed by ensemble playing with all the students. During the ensemble period, Karr addresses mostly sound production and listening skills. On Tuesday of the final week, the class presents what has turned out to be one of Victoria's most popular concerts of the year (read the review of the 2003 event).

The University of Victoria School of Music, where the classes are held, has an adequate number of practice rooms, which are actively used by the doublebassists. Sarah Wood, Karr's assistant, is always on hand to help the students and answer questions about Karr's expectations. The intensity of the course requires serious hours of practice, but there is always time to enjoy the delightful offerings in and around the city of Victoria. The class makes an annual visit to the famous Butchart Gardens and Karr & Lewis host several dinner parties at their home where they often perform for all the students.

Because KarrKamp attracts so many doublebassists from abroad (Asia, Europe and South America), a course in English as a second language is taught by Mary Rannie, the principal bassist of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. To help with the problems of travel, KarrKamp has eight user-friendly basses, which are available to distant travelers for a nominal rental fee.

In order to give ample focus to all participants, Karr has reduced the number of students to 16. There are no auditions required to enter the course. Players are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. The only requirement is a serious love of the doublebass. In past summers, the participants ranged from beginners to very advanced and from young to old (the youngest age must be 18 and the oldest must not be over 97). In order to be assured a place in the class, it is recommended to apply early as all places in the course are usually filled by January. Once it is filled, a waiting list is established should there be cancellations.

For more information, or to receive an application, contact Sarah Klein