Artist Picture

Kevin Brown

Bass

Principal, Van Dusen Family Chair

DSO member since 2014

Minnesota native Kevin Brown began playing the bass at age three. He has since gone on to perform with esteemed ensembles across the United States in a burgeoning career that led him back to the Midwest as Principal Bass of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Professor of Double Bass at Michigan State University.

Brown completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rice University as a student of Paul Ellison. While at Rice, Brown performed extensively with the Houston Symphony, including tours to New York and Moscow. In 2009 he won the International Society of Bassists Orchestral Competition, earning a week as a guest in the Philadelphia Orchestra bass section. Before his appointment to the DSO in 2014, Brown also appeared as guest Principal Bass of the Atlanta Symphony.

Beyond orchestral performance, Brown is an active soloist and chamber musician. Brown gave his concerto debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2015.

A deeply committed educator, Brown joined the faculty of Michigan State University in 2017. Outside of Michigan, he has taught as a guest at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, the University of Southern California, Texas Christian University, the Colburn School, and Rice University.