ASU music professor a featured artist in Guinness World Record event
Catalin Rotaru, ASU professor of double bass. Courtesy photo
Arizona State University’s Catalin Rotaru, professor of double bass in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and Wan Ting Yu, ASU doctoral music student, recently participated in a new Guinness World Record event in China.
Rotaru and Yu were the invited guests of Song Yi, a double bass professor from the world-famous Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
The Double Bass Aircraft Carrier Orchestra, established in 2012 by Yi, brought together the world's leading double bass artists and educators to participate in the largest double bass ensemble and festival on record.
Rotaru was the only representative from the United States to be invited to perform in the ensemble and festival.
“It was an honor to be invited to the world record attempt in China, especially since I was the only American present,” Rotaru said.
The invited participants also performed and taught classes at the fourth International Double Bass Art Festival at the internationally acclaimed Yehudi Menuhin School in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
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Catalin Rotaru at the Yehudi Menuhin School in China.
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Catalin Rotaru and Wan Ting Yu teaching a master class at the Yehudi Menuhin School in China.
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Catalin Rotaru and a master class student at the Yehudi Menuhin School in China.
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Catalin Rotaru and Wan Ting Yu performing at the Qingdao International Double Bass Festival in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
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The double bass performing ensemble at the Yehudi Menuhim School in China.
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Catalin Rotaru, Song Yi and Wan Ting Yu with the Guinness World Record certificate for the largest double bass ensemble.
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Rotaru was the featured artist at the festival and performed the closing recital, accompanied by Yu on piano. Rotaru and Yu, a Doctor of Musical Arts in collaborative piano student who is also a double bassist, taught double bass master classes sharing their unique insights and playing techniques at the festival.
The festival lasted eight days and culminated with the double bass ensemble’s certification by the Guinness World Records organization as the largest of its kind. The double bass ensemble — conducted by Yi and consisting of 338 performers, ages 6–76 years old — participated in the attempt to set a new world record.
In addition to Rotaru and Yu, the majority of the invited guest performers came from all the major music schools in China, with others from France, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea and other European countries. Every participant
“It was a very unique event as no one has ever attempted to do something like this with double bass players, as there are not very many of us,” Rotaru said. “Our instrument is also very large and not easy to travel with halfway around the world.”
Rotaru is no stranger to traveling around the world for the opportunity to play a role in the legacy of the double bass. In 2017, he traveled to Japan to help bring to life the famous Bottesini bass.
This Guiness World Record event promoted the art of double bass performance on the world’s stage and highlighted its increasingly important position in global music culture.
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