Our Team
Nina DeCesare (she/her)
Nina DeCesare joined the bass section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in September 2020 after five years in the Oregon Symphony bass section. She has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Sun Valley Music Festival, the Knights Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Equally comfortable as an orchestral musician, soloist, and chamber musician, Nina regularly performs with Chatter ABQ, Third Angle New Music, 45th Parallel, Chamber Music by Candlelight, and Classical Up Close. In 2023, Nina presented a headliner recital at the International Society of Bassists Convention at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Alongside her busy performing schedule, Nina is passionate about teaching and mentorship and in 2022, she was appointed to the faculty at Peabody Conservatory. Nina is also on the faculty the National Orchestral Institute and previously served on the faculty at Domaine Forget and NYO Canada. She has presented masterclasses at Juilliard, the New World Center, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Pittsburgh Bass Symposium, Michigan State University, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, James Madison University, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has been featured as a recitalist and faculty member at the SF Bass Bash, the UNCSA Bass Day, Golden Gate Bass Camp, KC Bass Workshop, the Twin Cities Bass Camp, and the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles.
Nicholas Greer-Young (they/them)
Nicholas Greer-Young (they/them) is a bassist and pedagogue from Royal Oak, Michigan. They have performed extensively with orchestras in Michigan and Ohio and can be heard playing with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on the soundtrack of Gradually, Then Suddenly: The Bankruptcy of Detroit. Other engagements include performances with the Richmond Symphony, New Orchestra of Washington, and Appalachian Chamber Music Festival.
As a teacher, Nick serves as a Lecturer of Music at Washington and Lee University and has coached the bass sections of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra and Columbus Symphony Chamber Strings Youth Orchestra. Their students have been awarded superior ratings at OMEA Solo and Ensemble adjudicated events as well as the International Society of Bassists’ George Vance & George Wellington Young Bassist Scholarship.
Nick is currently a doctoral student at James Madison University studying double bass performance with Sam Suggs and teaching courses in bass pedagogy. They completed their Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance at Bowling Green State University, studying with Robert Rohwer, and their Master of Arts in String Pedagogy at The Ohio State University. Additionally, Nick has studied at the Académie Internationale Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, privately with Detroit Symphony Principal Bass, Kevin Brown, and was a fellow at the Sarasota Music Festival during the summers of 2023 and 2024.
Ali Remondini (she/her)
Ali Remondini (she/her) is an American double bassist and educator based in Montreal. With a deep appreciation for non-western and non-traditional classical music, she is dedicated to performing works by new and underrepresented composers. Her diverse musical background—spanning classical, jazz, Afro-Cuban, samba, and traditional Ghanaian music—shapes her dynamic approach to both performance and teaching.
Ali maintains a private bass studio and freelances throughout Montreal. In addition to her work as a performer and educator, she serves as a Development Officer for the McGill Faculty of Education, where she works in philanthropy to support various educational initiatives.
Beyond her role in development, Ali is passionate about advancing equity within the arts and advocating for equitable access to arts education. She seeks to create inclusive opportunities for underrepresented voices in music and the broader arts community.
She holds a Master of Music from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, where she studied with Ali Kian Yazdanfar and Eric Chappell, and a Bachelor of Music from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, studying under Mark Urness.
Maggie Lin is a classical double bassist and currently serves as the Donor Database Manager at Merit School of Music, a nonprofit dedicated to making high-quality music education accessible to Chicago youth. She holds a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the instruction of Scott Dixon and a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University in Double Bass Performance, where she studied with Andrew Raciti.
From 2019 to 2021, Maggie was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where she performed and participated in community engagement initiatives at Symphony Center and throughout Chicago. Although her primary focus is now in nonprofit administration, she remains active in the music world through her private double bass studio.
Beyond her professional pursuits, Maggie enjoys cooking, baking, and exploring creative hobbies like cross stitching and needle felting.
Maggie Lin (she/her)
Giana DiNatale, an electric and double bassist, graduated from New York University with a Master of Music degree, Focus in String Studies, studying Double Bass with Gregg August. At NYU, she was Principal Bassist of the NYU O1 Symphony Orchestra, and performed in orchestral and jazz ensembles. Originally from Connecticut, Giana graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. At UConn, she was a Principal Bassist in the University Symphony Orchestra, as well as the UConn Jazz Ensemble.
Most notably, Giana was a frequent substitute for Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera, performed with Barry Manilow at Radio City Music Hall, is a member of the Fort Greene Orchestra, and was the principal bassist for the Sinfonietta’s performance of "Barbie The Movie: In Concert" and “Avatar, Live in Concert.” She enjoys playing in a variety of big bands and orchestras, spanning classical, Broadway, cabaret, and chamber music.
Giana DiNatale (she/her)
Sarah Wager (she/her)
Sarah Wager is a double bassist who currently holds a one-year position with the Phoenix Symphony. She has previously appeared with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony, and in the fall of 2023, won the audition for Associate Principal Bass of the Hawai’i Symphony. Sarah has performed with Music Academy of the West, Sarasota Music Festival, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, and Lucerne Contemporary Music Festival, which she attended for two summers.
Sarah received her BM from Boston University under the tutelage of Boston Symphony Principal bassist Edwin Barker, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, Sarah played with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, where she was co-principal for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons. She also appeared with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. She attended Domaine Forget for two summers; after her second summer, she was invited to write an article for the International Society of Bassists magazine about her time as a student there.
Following her undergraduate studies, Sarah attended the University of Southern California under the tutelage of Los Angeles Philharmonic bassist and renowned pedagogue David Moore. She received her MM degree in 2023 and began a Graduate Certificate program. Passionate about creating new works for the double bass, Sarah worked with three different composers in Los Angeles to workshop and create new compositions. During her time in Los Angeles, Sarah also helped organize house concerts to showcase her peers and artists in the community, one of which raised money for nonprofits that specialize in reproductive care.
Susan Hagen (she/her)
Susan Hagen is the first-ever female principal double bassist the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. In addition, Susan has been a first call substitute bassist with both and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the Boston Pops Orchestra (Boston Pops) for the past 18 seasons, performing over 600 concerts with the BSO and almost 1000 with the Boston Pops, as well as being on multiple recordings with each orchestra.
Susan’s solo performances are frequent & varied. In November of 2022, she gave the US premiere of Simón García’s Concerto for Amplified Double Bass & String Orchestra and has performed it 6 more times since. Since March 2020, Susan has premiered and recorded more than 130 pieces, many of which were premieres and written for/dedicated to her. Susan has also teamed up with her father, guitarist/electric bassist Roy Hagen, arranging and performing music of many genres - from French art songs to current pop tunes – and raising money for charities in over a dozen recitals.
Susan has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and clinician at several International Society of Bassists’ Conventions. In April 2024 she performed on the famed Koussevitzky bass, on loan by Gary Karr, for the “Koussevitzky Connections” – a 10-concert and multiple-workshop tour throughout New England in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Serge Koussevitzky. Susan has also performed & recorded with electric bassists Steve Bailey, Victor Wooten, and doubler John Patitucci.
Susan recently published a second edition of her book of Warm Ups for double bassists called “BASSics of Bass” which can be purchased on her website. She is on the faculty at Berklee College of Music, is a frequent lecturer at Harvard University, and has been a clinician at many festivals. She is an endorsed artist for PJBass amps as well as Remic Microphones and was featured in “Strad Magazine” in April of 2025.