Scott Pingel

Scott Pingel has been serving as the principal bass of the San Francisco Symphony since 2004, after having worked with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada. He has also served as principal bassist of Arizona MusicFest and the Bellingham festival orchestras, and he has served as principal bassist and co-Artistic Partner for the Mainly Mozart Festival.

An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with luminaries including Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Kalish, David Finckel, Yefim Bronfman, Wu Han, and members of the Emerson, Miro, PaciMica, St. Lawrence, Danish, and Takacs Quartets. He has also toured throughout the United States with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and he regularly performs in the Music at Menlo and Music in the Vineyards festivals.

His solo performances and recitals, featuring his own arrangements and compositions, have received high critical acclaim. Versatile in a variety of styles of music, Pingel has performed in jazz clubs from New York to Stockholm, and his solo performances with the iconic heavy metal band Metallica have been seen by millions worldwide, hailed as "show stopping" and "jaw dropping" by Rolling Stone and Variety magazines.

Passionate about teaching, Pingel has taught master classes throughout North America, Asia, and Europe; has served as a tenured Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan; and is currently a faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Former students have won international solo competitions and gained employment with major symphony orchestras in multiple countries.