Full Bio

Victoria Bakewell is a double bassist, educator, and researcher whose work bridges performance, pedagogy, and historical scholarship. Her work centers on the evolving role of the double bass in orchestral and pedagogical traditions, with particular interest in the connections between regional schools of bass playing and the development of modern technique and instruction.

Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Victoria holds degrees from Concordia College, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where she completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Powell.

As a performer, she has appeared with ensembles and festivals throughout the United States and abroad, including the Frost Symphony Orchestra, Frost Wind Ensemble, MahlerFest, and Festival Napa Valley, as well as international tours in Austria and Greece. She has participated in masterclasses with leading bassists, including Scott Pingel, Rob Kassinger, Joe Lescher, and Gabriele Ragghianti, and performs across orchestral, chamber, and collaborative settings.

Victoria’s research focuses on the historical development of double bass pedagogy and the instrument’s emergence as a foundational voice within the orchestra. Her project, The Double Bass: Becoming the Foundation of the Orchestra, received first place in the 2024 International Society of Bassists Research Competition (Student Division) and was later published in the Online Journal of Bass Research. Her doctoral essay, Interwoven Traditions: Cross-Influence in 19th-Century Western European Double Bass Pedagogy, further explores the exchange of ideas between major regional schools of bass playing during the nineteenth century. Her broader scholarly interests include archival research, historical translation projects, and expanding access to underrepresented bass literature and pedagogical resources.

In addition to her scholarly work, Victoria is an active arranger and advocate for expanding accessible repertoire for double bassists. Her arrangements and editions are published through Double Bass HQ.

As an educator, Victoria has taught students of various ages and experience levels through university programs, summer festivals, and private instruction. She has held teaching fellowships with Lutheran Summer Music and taught at the University of Colorado Summer Music Academy, where she coached chamber music, led sectionals, and taught technique classes. Her teaching emphasizes strong technical foundations, musical independence, curiosity, and long-term artistic development.