Paul DeNola

Appointed Fall 2024

A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Paul DeNola joined the National Symphony bass section in July of 2006. Before moving to Washington D.C., Paul spent three seasons as a member of the Oregon Symphony in Portland.

Paul completed his undergraduate degree at Indiana University where he studied with former Los Angeles Philharmonic principal bassist Bruce Bransby. He then attended the University of Southern California where he studied with Nico Abondolo and privately with David Moore. His other teachers have included Barry Lieberman, Barton Frank and Spencer Hoveskeland. Paul has since performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, the Garth Newel Music Center, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Bach Festival, among many other orchestras and chamber music groups. He has also attended the Aspen Festival of Music and the Music Academy of the West.

Paul was appointed to the bass faculty at the University of Maryland from fall 2024 and was previously the double bass instructor at American University in Washington, D.C. Paul is also active in maintaining a private bass studio and is also on faculty at Bass Works, a summer music workshop for aspiring young bassists. He was previously on faculty at Linfield College in McMinneville, Oregon, and was an assistant instructor at the University of Southern California.

A collaboration with NSO violinist Heather LeDoux Green has resulted in music comedy shows for kids called "The String Thing". The show features a violin/bass duo playing classical music mixed with gags and props. "The String Thing" shows have been featured in the Kennedy Center Family Theater 3 times and have been performed at many schools and venues throughout the D.C. Metro area. During the pandemic, "The String Thing" was filmed and crafted into a 35-minute video performance that can be seen online.

Paul's mammoth cello-shouldered double bass was made by Thomas Dodd in London, England, around 1810.