Deborah Dunham
Deborah Dunham, MM Adjunct Professor, Bass
School of Music, 101 | 936.294.3484 | ddunham@shsu.edu
Division | Strings
Deborah Dunham has toured internationally as a musician since 1981, maintained double bass teaching studios since 1991 and is currently on the faculty at Sam Houston State University's School of Music. Her previous pre-college students have gone on to prestigious music schools at Rice University, Juilliard, Indiana University, Oberlin, Manhattan School of Music, Harvard University and Northwestern. Deborah recently gave master classes at Boston University, Baylor University and Manhattan School of Music in New York. In addition she has made presentations and performed at the conventions of the International Society of Bassists.
Her principal teachers include Paul Ellison, Dennis Trembly, Stuart Sankey and Orin O'Brien.
Deborah served sixteen years as principal bass of Boston Baroque and is currently a principal player with Ars Lyrica (www.arslyricahouston.org), Mercury (www.mercuryhouston.org), and Bach Society Houston (www.bachsocietyhouston.org). She has also worked with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras.
She recorded for Telarc Records as a member of Boston Baroque and her past collaborations with other artists such as Jan DeGaetani (Eastman Chamber Players) and John Duykers (Seattle New Performance Group) and composers Bernard Rands (Boston Modern Orchestra Project) and John Harbison (Cantata Singers Ensemble) can be found on Bridge, Mode, Naxos, New Albion and New World Records.
Deborah has performed at many American music festivals including Tanglewood, The Grand Teton Festival, Aspen, Kent/Blossom, Ravenia and Colorado's Central City Opera. Internationally she has played as principal bass at the "Festival der Zukunft" in Switzerland and was a guest artist at the contemporary music festival "Musicarama" in Hong Kong.
She was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1987-1997 and worked regularly with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and Boston Pops Esplanade from 1996-2001.
Deborah gives back to the Arts Community through Nonprofit leadership. She was Artistic Director of the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester from 1995-2000, co-founded and served as President of the St. Cecilia Friends of Music from 2001-2003, co-founded and served as president of the Houston Chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America from 2003-2005, led Houston Early Music as Board President from 2015-17 and was appointed Executive Director of Houston Early Music in July 2017.