Blake Hilley: Jukebox for solo double bass

About the Composition

"Jukebox" is a pop song for double bass. It is a retro double bass ballad featuring warm and fuzzy notes, groovy rhythms, and belting melodies. The composition is my artistic soundscape of the songs in a old-timey Jukebox. I wanted to make the audience feel they popped a quarter into the fluorescent machine and selected their favorite whiny love ballad, dance bop, or favorite jam.

Listen to Blake's performance.

About the Composer

Blake Hilley is a Juilliard award-winning double bassist who performs both as a classical soloist and an orchestral bassist. Blake won a Section Double Bass Audition with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He performed with them for the 2023-2024 season. He was invited to compete at the 2023 ARD International Double Bass Competition. He is currently a Substitute Double Bassist with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Savannah Philharmonic.

He earned his Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School with Academic Honors in 2022, where he studied with Timothy Cobb, Principal Bassist of the NY Philharmonic. He then continued his graduate studies at The Juilliard School with Timothy Cobb until 2025. While at Juilliard, Blake was the Principal Double Bassist of the Juilliard Orchestra, Opera, New Music Ensemble, and Juilliard415 (the historical performance orchestra). He has performed under prestigious Maestros including Itzhak Perlman, Marin Alsop, and David Robertson. Blake, with Juilliard415, performed Principal and Solo Baroque Double Bass, touring across Germany with Yale Schola Cantorum in a total of 6 concerts plus a kickoff concert at Alice Tully Hall. The program was Haydn's Symphony No. 6 and Creation Mass under Maestro David Hill.

Blake's discography includes a wide variety of Classical Music, Classical Crossover, and Singer/Songwriter. Blake's recording of Max Bruch's "Kol Nidrei" has been lauded by Jason Heath from Contrabass Conversations in Blake's interview at ContrabassConversations.com. His "Kol Nidrei" is also selected as part of Classical California's classical music radio catalogue. His latest releases include his original classical crossover compositions "Jukebox" and "Morning Storm". His classical discography includes his "Meditations" EP, J.S. Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major" and David Anderson's "Four Short Pieces for Solo Double Bass". His songs include "Blue Moods" and "Violet".