Staff & faculty

Andy Moritz is an active professional bassist and music educator in the Greater Houston area, as well as the director of The Bass Studio, an intensive double bass instruction program.

Mr. Moritz holds a Masters Degree in Double Bass Performance & Pedagogy and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, both from the University of Houston, and also holds a Texas teaching certificate. He has studied with such bassists as Dennis Whittaker, Owen Lee, Ken Harper, David Murray, and William Black. Andy has played in masterclasses under such bass luminaries as Edgar Meyer, has been an instructor at Sam Houston State University, and has appeared as a guest clinician alongside IBMA’s five-time Bass Player of the Year Missy Raines.

Before leaving the classroom to pursue Graduate studies and establish The Bass Studio, Mr. Moritz taught orchestra in public schools for three years. In addition to his current work at the The Bass Studio, he is a regular clinician throughout the Houston area, and has regularly served as a faculty member in the SHSU summer orchestra camp program and the AFA Summer Music Festival.

His students in The Bass Studio have a tradition of excellence. Many are chosen for membership in the Texas All-State Orchestra , and nearly all win seats in every level of Region Orchestra competitions. His students are also high achievers in solo competitions, and are regularly selected as medalists at Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest. His students have attended such camps as AFA, The Texas Music Festival, The Jeff Bradetich master classes Interlochen, and Tanglewood, and have received admission and scholarships to such schools as The University of North Texas , Texas Tech University, Mannes College of Music, and The Juilliard School in New York.

Creatively, Mr. Moritz is involved with numerous projects. He is a founding member and lead bass for the innovative bluegrass fusion band, Classical Grass, and currently plays with various groups such as the Encore Strings, The Houston Mountain Boys, and Sugar Bayou. Andy also played with groups such as the Charlie Prause Trio, the Ed Gerlach Big Band, the Ronnie Renfrow Big Band, and Bo Levi and the Untamed Ponies, as well as playing bass guitar for the Woodway campus of Second Baptist Church, and was also a member of The Woodlands Symphony Orchestra for ten years.

Andy is an active freelance bassist in Houston, regularly performing with big bands, jazz combos, chamber ensembles, orchestras, string quintets, and rock, country, folk, and bluegrass bands. Andrew lives in west Houston with his wife Donna and two adorable dogs.

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