Scott Pingel

Biography

Scott Pingel has been serving as the principal bass of the San Francisco Symphony since 2004, after having worked with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada. He has also served as principal bassist of the Mainly Mozart, Arizona MusicFest, and Bellingham festival orchestras. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with luminaries including Yo-Yo Ma, Wu Han, members of the Emerson, Miro, Pacifica, St. Lawrence, Danish, and Takacs Quartets, toured throughout the US with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and regularly performs in the Music at Menlo and Music in the Vineyards festivals. His solo performances and recitals frequently featuring his own arrangements and compositions have received high critical acclaim. Versatile in a variety of styles of music, Pingel has performed in jazz clubs from New York to Stockholm, and his solo performances with the legendary heavy metal rock band, Metallica, were hailed as ‘show stopping’ and ‘jaw dropping’ by Rolling Stone and Variety magazines. Passionate about teaching, he has taught master classes throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, served as a tenured Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, and is currently a faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He lives with his wife, Iris, and their two daughters, Hannah and Sophia in Mill Valley, CA.