Double bassist Winston ‘Jack’ Budrow has died

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The International Society of Bassists (ISB) has announced the death of Winston ‘Jack’ Budrow. A past member of the ISB board of directors, Budrow died on 4 September after a brief stay in hospice, aged 79. 

Budrow was a former professor of double bass and co-chair of the string area at the Michigan State University College of Music (MSU) . He joined the MSU faculty in 1996 and enjoyed a long and varied career in double bass performance and teaching.

He was a former member of the Houston Symphony, Santa Fe Opera and the American National Opera orchestras, and the North Carolina Symphony, where he was principal bass. His students play in numerous symphony orchestras, including Atlanta, Charleston, Cincinnati, Chicago Civic, Florida Gulf Coast, Grand Rapids, Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco, as well as in the Michigan Opera and the Army Band.

Internationally, he placed students in the Oslo Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Munich Radio Orchestra, Heidelberg Symphony, and the Caracas Symphony. During his time at MSU, he taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts during summers. 

He served on the board of directors of the ISB, and was a judge for its International Solo Bass Competition. Budrow presented masterclasses throughout the US, including the Cleveland Institute, Florida State University, University of Houston, Indiana University, University of Michigan, Peabody Conservatory, and University of Texas. Additionally, he served as the bass section coach at the National Orchestral Institute and New World Symphony.

Budrow received his B.M. from Bowling Green State University. He was awarded Michigan’s 2014 String Teacher of the Year by the American String Teachers Association, and received the ISB’s Special Recognition Award for Teaching in 2017.

’We will always remember his joyful presence and rollicking sense of humour,’ the ISB said in a statement.

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