Fred Bretschger

Fred Bretschger, assistant principal bass, joined The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 1980. Originally from New York, he began playing the bass at age 16 and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and Cleveland Institute of Music. He completed his studies at The Juilliard School. In 1976, he joined the Buffalo Philharmonic, and became principal bassist of the Indianapolis Symphony in 1978. During the 1990–91 season he took a sabbatical from the SPCO to serve as principal bassist with the Houston Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach. As a chamber musician, Bretschger has appeared as a guest artist with the Chicago Chamber Players, the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, Strings in the Mountains, and Bravo! music festival in Vail, Colorado. He has also performed at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Grand Teton, and Santa Fe Opera Festivals. Since 1993, he has been on the performing faculty at the Sarasota Music Festival. He also taught at the Summer String Academy at Indiana University in 1998 and 1999. Bretschger is also a composer, conductor, arranger, as well as a lover of jazz, blues, and ancient ethnic music. He has conducted many 20th century works at the Grand Teton Music Festival, the University of Minnesota, and the Spectrum Contemporary Ensemble in Tampa. In 2000, he led a full scale production of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale at the Cactus Pear Festival in San Antonio. His compositions Fantasy Duo for Cello and Bass and Espanola for solo Bass have been published and performed at several venues across the country.