American String Teachers Association Names 2024 Artist Teacher Award

Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal bassist Joseph Conyers joins a list of renowned award recipients

Founded in 1946, the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) provides teaching resources, professional education, plus local and national events, to support string and orchestra teachers and musicians. 

Its Artist Teacher Award is awarded annually by the ASTA National Board of Directors to a pedagogue of renowned stature from North America. This year’s recipient is double bassist Joseph H. Conyers.

Conyers joined The Philadelphia Orchestra (PhilOrch) in 2010 as assistant principal bass. From 2017 to 2023, he served as PhilOrch’s acting associate principal bass, and won its principal bass position in May 2023. 

Previously, he was a member of the Atlanta Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and was principal bass of the Grand Rapids Symphony.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Conyers studied with Harold Robinson and Edgar Meyer. His other mentors included David Warshauer, Daniel Swaim, and Albert Laszlo.

As an educator, Conyers has served as adjunct faculty at Calvin College and Clark Atlanta University, and currently serves on the double bass faculty of the Juilliard School.

He has taught at numerous summer music festivals and has given lectures across the Colburn School, New England Conservatory, Yale University, Ohio State University, University of Georgia, and the Peabody Conservatory.

In 2007, Conyers founded the nonprofit Project 440, which supports and educates young musicians and supplies them with varying leadership skills. Its partners have included Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Curtis Institute of Music, the New York State Summer School of the Arts, and the Settlement Music School.

In 2015, he was appointed music director of Philadelphia’s All City Orchestra, which showcases top orchestral talent of students in the School District of Philadelphia. 

Additionally, Conyers has performed solo with the Alabama Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Sphinx Symphony (having won second prize at the 2004 Sphinx Competition). 

An artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, his chamber music partners have included James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, and members of the Emerson String Quartet.

Among his accolades include the 2019 Sphinx Organization Medal of Excellence, the 2018 C. Hartman Kuhn award, Musical America’s 30 Professionals of the Year award, and the Young Alumni Award from his alma mater.

Conyers currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Atlanta Music Project and has served on ASTA’s board of directors and on the board of overseers for the Curtis Institute of Music. He performs on the 1802 “Zimmerman/Gladstone” Vincenzo Panormo double bass.

“Joseph is an exemplary leader in our community and beyond and is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of musicians through his work with The Philadelphia Orchestra, All City Orchestra, Project 440, and in his teaching roles at Temple University and the Juilliard School,” PhilOrch posted on Instagram. “Congratulations on this much-deserved recognition, Joe!”

Past recipients of the award have included Joseph Szigeti, Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals, Yehudi Menuhin, Kim Kashkashian, and Itzak Perlman.