Edgar Meyer

Edgar Meyer was born on November 24, 1960 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is a bassist who got his start playing with his father, who directed his local string orchestra. After studying at Indiana University, Meyer went on to master several other instruments, including piano, guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin and dobro. Meyer’s virtuosity became apparent when he performed non-bass music, like Bach’s cello suites, on the double bass.

Meyer has composed two double bass concertos, a double concerto for bass and cello, a violin concerto and a string quintet. He won the Avery Fisher Prize in 2000 for outstanding classical achievement. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2002. He released a collaboration album in 2002 that topped US pop charts for 16 weeks. His collaboration album, Appalachian Journey, earned a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album. Meyer released another album in 2006 in which he accompanies himself on different instruments. He also co-created The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2012. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Double Bass at Vanderbilt.