Catalin Rotaru

Biography

Catalin Rotaru is an internationally acclaimed Romanian-born classical and jazz double bass virtuoso and music educator. He currently serves as a professor of double bass at Arizona State University (since 2005). Previous teaching positions were at Millikin University and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

As a boy, he graduated from the Georges Enescu Arts Lyceum and Conservatory in Bucharest, and immediately won a position with the Siblu State Philharmonic in Transylvania. Three years later, he became associate principal with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra in Bucharest and also served as principal with the Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra of Bucharest and Orchestra Sinfonica Europea, with which he toured extensively throughout Europe.

In 1995, Rotaru moved to the United States to study at the University of Illinois where he earned a Master of Music degree in music performance. He was the second prize winner at the 1997 International Society of Bassists Solo Division Competition, also winning the jury’s Special Award for the best performance of the required piece at that competition. Other awards include being the winner of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Debut Recital Award in 1997, the Central Illinois Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award in 1996, and in 2013 was honored with the Recognition Award for Solo Performance by the International Society of Bassists.

Catalin is one of the most in-demand international soloists of the day. He has recorded seven solo CDs, and in 2017 had the great honor of recording a world premiere historical CD entitled The Lord of the Basses – Bottesini’s Testore, performing on Bettesini’s double bass made by Testore in 1716. In that same year, he also recorded an album titled Sonic Bridges, Vol. II with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay. This album includes a few world-premiere works dedicated to him as well as the first rendition of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, where the solo viola part is played on double bass.

Professor Rotaru performs on a modern instrument made in Italy by Luciano Golia, and a bow made by Marco Pasquino. He is a Pirastro Strings endorsing artist.

SPECIALTIES:

All symphonic repertoire
Orchestral excerpts
Audition prep
Transcription technique and repertoire
Practice methods

LANGUAGES:

English. Romanian