Gary Karr: Life on the G String

Gary Karr: Life on the G String chronicles the extraordinary international career of a double-bass soloist. Launched in 1962 by Leonard Bernstein, in a Young People's Concert at Carnegie Hall viewed on television by seven million people, Karr quickly gained legendary status for his virtuosity and inimitable lyricism, his infectious sense of humour, and the pioneering spirit that led him to found, in 1967, the International Society of Bassists, and he continues to perform and record at age seventy-five. In this account of Karr's professional and personal development, his own words punctuate the narrative and engage the reader in a lively, revealing conversation. Emotional, surprising, and entertaining, his story will appeal not only to his many fans and fellow-bassists, but to all musicians, music-lovers, and biography enthusiasts....

Mary Rannie is the principal double bass of the Victoria Symphony in British Columbia, Canada, the double bassist in the Galiano Ensemble, and former bass instructor at the University of Victoria. She grew up in Beamsville, Ontario, the daughter of a newspaper editor and publisher. She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in music at the University of Western Ontario in 1974, and a diploma in applied linguistics at the University of Victoria in 1994. A long-time associate of Gary Karr, she is uniquely positioned to tell his story with insight and authority....