Randall Zigler

Randall Zigler joined the Conservatory in 2019 and is an associate professor of double bass and contemporary classical music.

Hailed as “a revelation” for his “astounding agility…voiced with a beautiful baritone,” Zigler enjoys a highly active and varied career as an orchestral and chamber musician throughout New England and New York.

A founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Zigler has performed new music extensively, and has been involved in countless premieres since the group’s inception in 2001. He can be heard on the New Focus, Mode, Sono Luminus, Naxos, Innova, and Minabel labels, and has recorded works by Iannis Xenakis, Mario Davidovsky, Du Yun, Dai Fujikura, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Suzanne Farrin, among others.

As an orchestral musician, Zigler is currently a member of the Boston Ballet Orchestra, a frequent substitute with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and has served as principal bass of both the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra. He is currently principal bass of Emmanuel Music, with whom he has extensive continuo experience in addition to larger ensemble performances.

Zigler is also a devoted educator, working as the bass coordinator for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) and has been on the faculty of BYSO’s Intensive Community Program for more than 15 years, with a focus on serving populations historically underrepresented in the study of classical music. In addition, he has previously served on the faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Zigler began bass studies as a high school student in St. Louis, Missouri, and received undergraduate degrees in bass performance and mathematics from Oberlin College. He received a Master of Music degree from Boston University, and has studied with Edwin Barker, Scott Haigh, Tom Sperl, Albert Laszlo, and Carolyn White.