Boston Symphony Orchestra appoints principal double bass

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The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has announced the appointment of Caleb Quillen as its new principal double bass. Quillen is currently a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and will occupy the Harold D. Hodgkinson chair, succeeding Edwin Barker, who retires at the end of the 2024–25 BSO season after 48 years as principal bass.

In addition to leading the BSO’s bass section at Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and on tour, Quillen will join other first-chair string and wind players to become a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. He will be the tenth principal bass in the history of the BSO.

BSO’s music director Andris Nelsons commented: ’After almost 50 years as principal bass of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, my colleagues and I bid a fond farewell to Ed Barker, who retires at the end of this spring. Ed has led his section with exceptional musicianship and integrity, and we are filled with gratitude for his years dedicated to the BSO. Ed remains a cherished part of our BSO family and its legacy.

’At the same time, we are very pleased to warmly welcome the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s new principal bass, Caleb Quillen. Caleb’s outstanding artistry will be invaluable to the BSO as he joins us in his roles as section leader and as a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.

Quillen studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and Tim Pitts and at the New England Conservatory with BSO double bassist Lawrence Wolfe and with Donald Palma.

A Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 2015 and 2016, he was awarded the Maurice Schwarz Prize and performed with musicians of the Ozawa Academy Switzerland. In 2016, he was also a fellow in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy. 

In addition to his role at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Quillen also served seven seasons with the Kansas Symphony Orchestra and performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, and New York Philharmonic orchestras.

The BSO also announced the appointment of section violins Samuel Andonian and Arianna Brusubardis Grace. Andonian, currently a doctoral fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, is a native of Greater Boston who grew up playing in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) and was a soloist at Armenian Night with the Boston Pops at age 17.

Brusubardis Grace is a graduate of the Tanglewood Music Center and joins the BSO after holding positions in the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. 

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