Scott Best, a native of Newton, Massachusetts, has been the Principal Bassist for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra since the 1996-97 season. From a musical family, Scott began playing the bass at the age of 8, and decided only a few years later that he wanted a career in music.Mr. Best's principal teachers have included Lawrence Wolfe, Assistant Principal of the Boston Symphony, Timothy Pitts, Principal of the Houston Symphony, and Donald Palma, of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.Scott has performed with numerous orchestras and music festivals around the world, including the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and the the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA. In recent years, he has performed frequently as a substitute for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham.In addition to his position with the MSO, Scott has been the Co-Principal bass of the Iris Orchestra, in Germantown, TN, since its inception in the Fall of 2000. He can be heard on several recordings by Iris, including a highly acclaimed Naxos release of the chamber music of Stephen Hartke.Scott is married to MSO Assistant Principal cellist Iren Zombor. They are the proud parents of 3 1/2 year old twin girls, Emily and Sophia, to whom pretty much all free time is devoted. If anyone is interested in donating a night of babysitting while Scott and Iren go to dinner and a movie, please contact them any time.
