Double Bass

Alden F. Cohen

Principal

Professional Double Bassist

A San Francisco native, Alden Cohen serves as a professional double bassist throughout the Bay Area. After graduating from the Peabody Institute (B.M.) and San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M.), he won the Santa Cruz Symphony Principal Bass position in 2008 and the Assistant Principal Bass position with Oakland Symphony in 2018, as well as serving as a regular substitute for San Francisco Symphony since 2004. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Berkeley Symphony and Modesto Symphony and has performed as acting Principal Bass with the Berkeley Symphony, Fresno Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Symphony Napa Valley, Pacific Chamber Symphony, San Francisco Lyric Opera, and West Bay Opera.

As a soloist, Mr. Cohen performed with San Francisco Symphony bassist Stephen Tramontozzi at the San Francisco Bass Bash in 2005 and 2016, and has played with other double bassists for numerous special events.

Teacher

Alden Cohen has two decades of experience teaching double bass and cello students. Many of his students have won auditions into the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as other youth orchestras in the Bay Area. On top of becoming accomplished artists, Mr. Cohen’s students learn to be goal-oriented as they develop daily routines, organizational abilities, and critical thinking skills. He is passionate about helping children and adults learn how to play the music they love on a cello or double bass. Click here to learn more about his teaching, and check out Cohen Double Bass Studio on Yelp.

Publisher | Arranger | Engraver

Alden Cohen is also an experienced musical arranger, publicist, and music theory instructor. In 2021, he published his eBook, Mastering Double Bass Shifting. In 2020, he remastered nine parts of a reduced score of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker for the Oakland Ballet. He has also helped arrange music for weddings.

http://www.aldenfcohen.com/ | 415-637-8855

Aleksey Klyushnik

Assistant Principal

Sponsored by Ronald and Cynthia Sekkel

Aleksey Klyushnik enjoys a versatile career as solo, chamber and orchestral musician. As a soloist, Aleksey has given many recital performances around the US. In 2008, Aleksey won The Parness Concerto Competition and performed the Hoffmeister Double Bass Concerto with the Culver City Symphony. Aleksey was granted twice the Award of Merit from Leni FeBland Foundation in Santa Barbara, and won the third prize at Boston's Bay State Concerto Competition in 2010. 

As an active chamber musician Aleksey has collaborated with many artists such as André Watts, David Shifrin, Philip Setzer, Ransom Wilson, Paul Neubauer, Altenberg Trio Vienna, Peabody Trio, Robert Van Sice and many others. Aleksey was invited to Chamber Music Northwest for two consecutive summers as Protégé Project fellow. Also Aleksey has been a member of the Maestro Chamber Music Academy in Santa Monica, and has participated in the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival. 

As an orchestral musician Aleksey has been a participant of the Pacific, Verbier and Lucerne music festivals performing in venues throughout Europe, US and Japan. Aleksey has collaborated with many great conductors, some of which include Pierre Boulez, Valeriy Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, Andrew Davis, Mikhail Pletnev, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Zubin Mehta. In 2008, Aleksey was appointed the principal bass of the Opera Pacific Orchestra in Santa Ana, Orange County, a post he held until November 2008. In addition, Aleksey has performed regularly with several orchestras in Southern California, including the San Diego and Long Beach symphonies. 

Aleksey completed all of his studies on full scholarship. He holds both the Bachelor of Music degree and the Artist Diploma from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, and the Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. 

Kelly Beecher

Sponsored by George & Elizabeth Bunch

A native of Northeastern Ohio, Kelly Beecher studied the double bass at Kent State University, studying with Lawrence Angell of the Cleveland Orchestra. While in Ohio, he played with the symphonies of Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Toledo, Wheeling WV, and Fort Wayne IN, among others.

In California, Kelly has played many seasons with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra.

James Schulz

James Schulz received his BA in Music from CSU East Bay (2010), and Masters in Music at SFCM (2013). James has performed with the Santa Cruz Symphony, One Found Sound in San Francisco, Rogue Valley Symphony in Southern Oregon, Modesto Symphony, Stockton, Monterey, Symphony Silicon Valley, and other regional symphonies. James also has performed in musical theater pits throughout the bay area on upright and electric bass, and a wide variety of other musical styles and ensembles. James teaches private lessons in the East Bay, and coaches bass sections in schools and youth orchestras throughout the area, and published a bass study book, "Double Bass: Exercises, Scales, and Reference" in 2022.

Plamen Velikov

Plamen Velikov