Vienna Philharmonic Announces First Female Double Bassist

Austrian double bassist Valerie Schatz will assume a tutti position with the ensemble after a successful audition in March 2021

Schatz had previously worked with the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic when she joined the ensemble on a temporary contract — travelling with them in 2019. 

Her official tutti role began just last month and Schatz will become a full member of the orchestra after a three-year trial period.

After closing down for over a year due to the pandemic, the Vienna State Opera reopened its doors in May 2021 — where Schatz also played in a double bass quartet for the Austrian Parliament. 

Born 1997 in Wasserburg am Inn, Germany, Schatz had her first music lessons when she was five on the dulcimer. Two years later, she began learning the harp and was later introduced to the double bass.

Following three years of private double bass training, she was accepted into Munich’s University of Music in 2012, studying with Heinrich Braun for two years. By then, Schatz was already a member of the Bavarian State Youth Orchestra and VBW Festival Orchestra of the Nations. 

Her various prizes include first place at the Jugend Musiziert Competition and the Edgar Auer Special Prize. In 2014, she became a permanent member of Germany’s Federal Youth Orchestra and at age 19, received a scholarship from the Orchestra Academy of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

Having participated in masterclasses with Johannes Auersperg, Günter Klaus, and Duncan Mc Tier, Schatz began studying with Dorin Marc at Nuremberg’s University of Music in 2015.

Schatz’s previous work engagements include the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian State Opera, and at the State Theater on Gärtnerplatz. Over a two-year period, Schatz performed with conductors such as Mariss Jansons and Daniel Harding.

In addition to her new role with the Vienna Philharmonic, Schatz also won a permanent position as a tutti double bass player with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in October 2020.