BIO

Nina DeCesare is one of the most versatile and exciting double bassists of her generation, regularly balancing her time between her position at the Baltimore Symphony, her faculty job at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins, and her appearances around the country, as a masterclass clinician and soloist. Nina is regularly invited to perform with many of the highest caliber ensembles in the country, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is a leading advocate for gender equity in the bass community and recently launched The Artemis Bass Initiative, a nonprofit that provides mentorship, professional development, and community to women and nonbinary bassists as well as raises awareness nationwide through seminars. 

Nina’s energetic and passionate approach to solo playing is highly sought after and she has a unique approach to the Bach Cello Suites, after recording all six at the beginning of Covid in a project inspired by Alisa Weilerstein’s #36daysofBach. She is a recipient of François Rabbath’s Certificates of Teaching and Performance and a graduate of Rice University, where she studied with Paul Ellison. The multifaceted nature of her career and her work as an advocate makes her a well-rounded and compassionate teacher and she’s presented masterclasses and workshops at the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute, the New World Symphony, the National Orchestral Institute, and Domaine Forget Academy.