Ian Whitman

I was a proud teenaged guitar player in my hometown of Edmonton before being introduced to the bass at age 17. After graduating from high school, I studied jazz and world music at Grant MacEwan University before heading East to Montreal. In 2004, I received my Bachelor of Music degree at McGill University where I studied closely with members of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Under the tutelage of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra founding member, Don Palma, I was awarded my Master of Music from Yale University School of Music. During my time at Yale, I made my debut at Carnegie Hall in New York and worked with world-class artists from around the world. After a year at Boston’s New England Conservatory, I joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra as principal bass in 2008.

Over the last few years, I’ve played as guest principal bass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the London Symphonia, and the Niagara Symphony. From the time I moved to the region, I have appeared as soloist several times with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Kitchener-Waterloo chamber Orchestra, performed with the Penderecki String Quartet, the NUMUS Ensemble, worked with the KW Chamber Music Society in Waterloo, the InnerChamber Series in Stratford and the Colours of Music Festival in Barrie.

Since joining the faculty at Laurier in 2012, I’ve coached ensembles and led masterclasses for the string area on numerous occasions. I proudly visit local schools, retirement homes, and other venues in our community as a speaker and performer with the KW Symphony’s Outreach program and coach/ conduct students of all ages as part of the Youth Orchestra program.

I live in Kitchener with my wife, violinist Allene Chomyn and our two young children. When not playing bass, I enjoy reading, listening to LPs, and spending time outdoors in one of our glorious parks.