Bass Clarinet Workshop (Dr Jason Alder)

Kicking off our Clarinet & Sax weekend is a Bass Clarinet Workshop from leading UK player and Selmer Paris / D'Addario performing artist Dr Jason Alder. This workshop is open to all Bass Clarinet players and/or those interested in taking up the Bass. 

IMPORTANT: This session is restricted to x10 spaces and participants are encouraged to bring their Bass or Contrabass Clarinet along with a view to taking part in a small group warm-up session.

This session will be split into two sections; firstly some warm-ups and general practice, tone, altissimo and extended techniques, and gear and resources advice from Jason which will be relevant to all attendees. This will be followed by a Masterclass session where 3 players will be invited to play a piece of repertoire or short excerpt (contact us to volunteer). Jason will then discuss the performance and various elements to consider or work on.

Dr Jason Alder is a low clarinet and new music specialist, improviser, and researcher, working with composers to develop and premiere new works for clarinets of all sizes. He is often found performing, lecturing, teaching, or on panel discussions the world, and also works as a recording session musician. His contrabass clarinet playing is particularly sought after by soundtrack composers, and he can be heard on films and TV shows from Paramount, BBC, ITV, RTL+, and Apple TV+. 

Jason authored the widely-used Quarter-Tone and Altissimo fingering charts for soprano, bass, and contrabass clarinets and recently released a solo album "Milieu Interieur" of works by collaborative composer Thanos Chrysakis. He has also authored numerous articles and resources about clarinets for The Clarinet and Clarinet and Saxophone magazines and is on the ICA New Music Committee, Low Clarinet Festival Artistic Committee, and was Co-Artistic Director of ClarinetFest 2024 in Dublin. Jason is an artist for Henri Selmer Paris clarinets, D'Addario reeds, Silverstein ligatures, and Behn mouthpieces.

As Jason takes a special interest in Low Clarinets we'd encourage any Bass or Contrabass players out there to take part in this session with a leading expert! If you have any questions please get in touch and we'd be glad to help.

• Parking is free and readily available outside the Dawkes store
• All attendees must register & pay, however if you're a parent paying for a youngster you don't need to buy your own ticket
• Please be advised that a Dawkes staff member may be taking photos/videos during this session
• If the event is cancelled by Dawkes for any reason a full refund will be issued
• ALL BOOKINGS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE