Lawrence P. Hurst Medal in Double Bass
The Lawrence P. Hurst Medal in Double Bass was established to honor the teacher, mentor, friend, and member of the Jacobs School of Music faculty, Lawrence Hurst.
Lawrence Hurst began his musical studies on the piano accordion at age 4. He started studying the double bass through the public school system as he was growing up in Norfolk, Virginia. After serving two years playing with the Seventh Army Symphony, he joined the Dallas Symphony under Sir Georg Solti as principal bassist. In 1964, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, where he also chaired the String Department, and served as Associate Dean and Director of the University Division of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. In 1967, he joined the summer faculty of Interlochen Arts Camp where he has continued teaching every summer.
In 1986, he joined the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at IU, and here he also chaired the String Department from 1987 to 2012. His many students have found success and play in orchestras in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Atlanta, The Metropolitan Opera, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, among many others. He has been awarded many awards, including the American String Teacher's Association Artist/Teacher of the Year Award in 2005 and the Distinguished Teaching Award from the International Society of Bassists (of which he is past president) in 2006. In 2013, the ISB also awarded him the Distinguished Achievement Award.
The Lawrence P. Hurst Medal in Double Bass is awarded at the end of the spring semester each year to a worthy undergraduate or graduate student who is pursuing a degree in Double Bass. The candidate is chosen by the String Department and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at the Jacobs School.