“Double bassist Nina DeCesare is making history as the Oregon Symphony’s first female bass player. After beginning her path to a professional musician at age 8 on a quarter-size bass, DeCesare went on to study with Paul Ellison at Rice University and with François Rabbath in Paris. She represented Rice’s Shepherd School of Music with a solo at the Kennedy Center in 2014 and won her seat with the Oregon Symphony later that same year. Her hands are exactly the right size to play the bass, and no, she does not need help carrying such a big instrument.”