Although Ali Yazdanfar started playing the bass at 7 years old, he didn't take the usual music school route to becoming a professional. In fact, his science and mathematics background led to a physics degree from The Johns Hopkins University and, upon graduating, he won his first audition to become a member of the Houston Symphony. He went on to win his next three auditions, for the National Symphony in Washington, DC, for principal bass with the San Francisco Symphony, and for principal bass with the Montreal Symphony, where he currently plays.

 

Some recent highlights were performances of Eduard Tubin's Concerto and Jörg Widmann's Teiresias with the Montreal Symphony and the world premiere of Gareth Wood's Sonata at the ISB's biennial convention. He is on the faculty of McGill University's Schulich School of Music, and has taught at festivals such as the Orford Arts Center, the Domaine Forget, the National Orchestral Institute, and Bass Club (England).