Joseph Conyers
Joseph H. Conyers was appointed principal double bassist of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He attended The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and graduated with his bachelors degree studying with both Hal Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Edgar Meyer.
Described as a “splendid musician” by the Arizona Daily Sun, Conyers has performed as soloist with the Alabama Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, and the Savannah Symphony and Civic Orchestras. In 2004, Conyers won second prize in the seventh annual Sphinx Competition for strings in Detroit, MI giving a performance with the Sphinx Symphony in Detroit. He has since been named principal of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, which gave its debut performance in Carnegie Hall in December of 2004 and will be returning in October of 2006. In 1999, he performed as a guest soloist on NPR’s From the Top, a radio program that recognizes some of the nation’s most talented teens in classical music. That year he also participated on a thirteen-city tour of Europe with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and conductor Andre Previn.
Conyers spends his summers as a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra in New Mexico where he plays as many as fifty shows a season. He has been a fellowship student and held principal positions at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Spoleto Festival USA and the Brevard Music Center. He also spent a summer at the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. He has been a participant in the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Strings in the Mountains Festival, and Britten-Pears Festival (UK) playing chamber music.
Conyers was principal (solo) bass of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra with whom he traveled extensively across the United States and recorded on the Naxos label. He also held the position of assistant principal bass of the Haddonfield Symphony in New Jersey. Conyers has performed with a number of orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in a number of prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
Conyers is a native of Savannah, GA, and his interests include meteorology and physical fitness.