Bass Musician Magazine - SPECIAL August 2014 Female Bassist Issue | Page 198

YING Interview by Rául Amador Ying Lai Green sinfonietta.nl rotterdamsphilharmonisch.nl Some of the band(s) I Play With: Solo bassist with Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Co Principal Bass with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Gear I Use: Testore School 18th century Italian Bass, Krattenmacher Bass made in 2003, Dupuy French bow Endorsed By: D’Addario How/Where did you learn to play? I first started bass at school, with short weekly peripatetic lesson. Then later at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, followed by the Royal Academy of Music in London. After that, I travelled to Germany to see bass playing from a different perspective before settling in the Netherlands. In truth though, I still learn daily from the colleagues around me. In an industry dominated by male musicians, do you find that this hinders or helps your opportunities? Luckily for me, I have never been subject to any form of prejudice. One of the advantages of the auditioning system in the Netherlands is that it is behind a curtain, so unless you are audibly wearing high heels, the jury will not be able to distinguish your gender. Opportunities in my opinion are alike regardless of gender. What is your opinion of the image of female bassists in today’s music industry? I can only speak with confidence about the environment in which I make music. Here I see that the times of male domination in the orchestra is no longer a reality. Actually nowadays the women in the female changing rooms have the danger of stepping on one