Catalin ROTARU
Romanian double bassist Catalin ROTARU is currently a professor in the United States, he has been principal double bass of several Romanian orchestras, has received ISB Awards, recorded several solo CDs and given numerous recitals.
Catalin Rotaru joined the Arizona State University School of Music in 2005. Mr. Rotaru is sought after as a performer and educator worldwide. He is a graduate of the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania, and holds a Master of Music Performance degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he was an associate professor of double bass and jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and has taught at Millikin University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He has been principal bass associated with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, the Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra, the Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra of Bucharest, the Sinfonia Da Camera and the Orchestra Sinfonica Europea.
He received second prize in the 1997 International Society of Bassists Solo Division Competition and the Special Jury Prize for the best performance of the required piece at that competition. He was the recipient of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Debut Recital Award in 1997, the Central Illinois Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Award in 1996, and in 2013 he received the International Society of Bassists Recognition Award for Solo Performance.
Mr. Rotaru’s first solo CD, entitled “Bass*ic Cello Notes,” was released by Summit Records in March 2007 and in 2010 his second CD entitled “Juliana D’Agostini + Catalin Rotaru” was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2012, Mr. Rotaru recorded his third CD, in collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay, which includes the world premiere of a double bass performance of W. A. Mozart’s famous Violin Concerto No. 5 and in 2014 he released a special CD/DVD set with works by Frank Proto which includes the world premiere recording of the Sonata No. 2 dedicated to him.
In recent years, Rotaru has performed frequently as a soloist with numerous symphony orchestras and has given master classes at many prestigious institutions and festivals in the United States, Asia, Europe and South America.
Mr. Rotaru plays a modern instrument made in Italy by Luciano Golia and a bow made by Marco Pasquino, and is an artist sponsor of Pirastro Strings.