On February 22, 2018 we opened our second season with a surprise visit from Yung-Chiao Wei, double bass professor at LSU. She shared many secrets with my Thursday students who were not expecting her to be here in Miami. She shared many secrets about double bass performance and also showed how passionately one can play the double bass. Yung-Chiao Wei and Luis Gomez-Imbert will perform Love and Betrayal, a double Double bass concerto, at FIU in October 2018 under the baton of Maestro Javier Mendoza and then will take it on the road to LSU on November 14, 2018 under the baton of Carlos Riazuelo. She is a very dynamic and musical double bassist. Her teaching style is very unique and filled with great intensity. And so is her teaching. We were so delighted and honored by her visit and hope to have many more collaborative projects in the near future. Brava Maestra!!!

Our Grand-opening first event with Jeff Bradetich and Gudrun Raschen drew a great response from the Miami bass community!! The amazing solo technique of Jeff Bradetich and his own unique teaching methodology along with the beautiful playing of Dr. Gudrun Raschen left every one super motivated to continue learning and impatiently waiting for their next visit to Miami, hopefully coming very soon!! We will keep you updated as we know more!! Jeff and Gudrun's idea to help develop the Miami International Academy of Double Bass' concept will pay great dividends for the development of the many students of our instrument in the Miami area. Thank you Jeff and Gudrun for your continuous support.

Mr. Ryohei Morita came to Miami April 28th, 2017 as a cultural courtesy of the Consulate General of Japan. He will be back again during April 2018 to play a recital and conduct a series of masterclasses oriented toward solo and orchestral playing. He is super funny and his ability to play the bass is extraordinary. Each time that he played to demonstrate a passage to the participants was a true masterclass. Extremely gifted double bassist and always ready to help each one of the bassists who came that day.

As part of his USA tour, we were visited by Sergio Rivas on May 21st, 2017. Great masterclass with all the secrets of Argentinian tango. We were absolutely impressed by his versatility. He has promised to come back and play both solo music from Argentina as well as chamber music along with members of his musical ensemble. We never thought that there were so many different techniques to play tango on the bass. His approach to solo technique and sound are well based in the tradition of Astor Piazzolla. Can not wait until he comes back to play for us many more times.

Legendary latin American virtuoso Milton Masciadri visited us on September 7th, 2017 and offered a fantastic masterclass for all of the students and professionals that were in attendance. He literally came down from the airport after two weeks of masterclasses in Brazil. A true and devoted teacher of the double bass. Great personality and listened to everyone until the last note! Bravo Maestro Masciadri!!! At the end, we went to Graziano's Restaurant to enjoy a great Argentinian meal. It does not get any better than that.

Excellent session with Charley Winters, Katrina and Alex from Miami String! Charley is an expert in every aspect of repair and restoration of string instruments. His passion and knowledge on the subject bring a new dimension to his craft. You cannot help but to love his flair and enthusiasm. The selected video clips were extremely informative and the demonstrations were superb. Thanks Miami String for being a part of our musicians' community!! We are looking forward to make this series a frequent event for the benefit of all Miami string artists and musicians. Sincere thanks to all participants for attending this high level event. Hope to see even more participants in the next luthier's corner events.

Elias Tona and his guests put together a great masterclass and even premiered a new Sonata by Mauricio Rodriguez for Double bass and Electric bass which can be seen on our Youtube channel (miabassacademy). We are so excited to have Elias as member of our Associate Faculty and he has promised many more exciting masterclasses for the 2018 season. Elias will be also part of our Bass by the Beach 2018 bass week at Florida International University. Thank you Elias, Mauricio and Miguel for a memorable December 11th musical evening.

Hernan Matute and his guests brought our 2017 season to an end. Great recital and indeed very eclectic with many different styles that featured the double bass at its best. Hernan has dedicated his whole life to teach and to perform and has travelled all over the world with music that is joyful and filled with a great sense of artistic sensitivity. The recital was extremely well attended and we would like to see Hernan perform many more times at the Academy. Thanks to Laura, Henry, Carlos, Sophia and of course to Hernan one more time!!

Eugene Levinson honored us with his visit on January 25th, 2018. Many participants were able to play for him and get great feedback on how to improve their solo and orchestral skills. Mr. Levinson is hyper known all over the world for his solo recordings, his orchestral mastery and his teaching methodology. Many of his students are members of the most important symphony orchestras worldwide. We'll remember this evening for many years to come and hope that he will come back soon to share with us his great knowledge.