BIOGRAPHY

Canadian born bassist Callum Hay Jennings began his relationship to classical music at the age of 18. Having completed a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Toronto, Jennings moved to Montreal to pursue an Artist Diploma at McGill University with Joel Quarrington. In 2012 his path led him to Berlin to study with Matthew McDonald in the Master’s Program at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’.

He now appears regularly with prominent European orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. An in demand principal bassist, Jennings is currently on long-term contract in a leadership role with the Bergen Philharmonic, and enjoys guest leading the bass sections of Helsinki Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Norwegian Opera and Ballett Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen.

He has taken international stages at festivals such as Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway, Hitzacker Summer Music Festival in Germany, and Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark, with soloists such as Antje Weithaas, Amihai Grosz, Maximillian Hornung, the Kuss Quartet and Trio Boccherini as well as principal players from orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Danish Radio Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

A passionate interpreter of contemporary music, Jennings has toured internationally with Ensemble Modern and from the 2022-23 season joins Bergens new music collective BIT20 Ensemble in a permanent role.

https://www.callumhayjennings.com/