|
Paul Unger is currently the Assistant Principal Bass of the
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since
moving to Texas in 1995. Mr. Unger has appeared as a featured
soloist with the Fort Worth/ Dallas Ballet, Ballet Arlington
and Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, and his jazz abilities have
put him on stage with such diverse artists as Kevin Eubanks, Ray Charles, Michael
Feinstein, Bernadette Peters, Ira Sullivan, Howard Alden, Don Lanphere, Tom Grant,
Shelly Berg, Marchel Ivery, Shelly Carroll, and Bobby Shew.
Paul was also an integral member of the critically
acclaimed group “Flipside”.
A group refered to in Cadence magazine as “contemporary jazz at its best”, “exhilarating
and challenging music making that is rarely dull. A band not to be missed”.
His work on Flipside’s latest CD, “Raw”, spawned these kind
words from David Lewis at Cadence, “not only is Unger a first rate rhythm
player, there is no question of his ability to extend his technique well beyond
mainstream expectations.” And the Louisville Observer said of Mr. Unger, “the
somewhat unexpected gem in Flipside’s “Artificial Joy” is
bassist Paul Unger. Like the better known Edgar Meyer, Unger has a strong background
in classical music… his smooth bowing style gives an elegiac feel to
his own compositions…”
Mr. Unger is a native of Silverton, Oregon and
graduated from Indiana University. In addition to his musical work,
he wrote
and directed the multiple award winning
film, “The Last Supper”, which appeared in over a dozen festivals,
worldwide, in 1998-1999. More recently he has composed music for the upcoming
feature films “Seventy-Eight” and “Deadroom”. When
time allows, Paul performs with the Paul Unger/ Tom Reynolds Project, as
a member of the international Tango ensemble, “Montango”, and
in a duo with percussionist Max Oepen whose CD debut, “Within Reach”,
will be released in the summer of 2005.
Paul would like to add that, “Although I
only play with these groups sparingly, I feel it is an indispensable
part of my musical and artistic growth. As a bass
player, I don’t have the opportunity to play the ‘classical’ chamber
music that other symphonic instrumentalists get to play. Mozart, Beethoven
and Bach did not write chamber music that includes the double bass. Working
with
these other ensembles gives me an opportunity to grow musically and artistically
and to bring that experience back to the FWSO.”
Paul was recently married this past September
and would like to thank his beautiful and supportive wife, Valerie.
Return
to Faculty Homepage
08/15/05
|
|
