Donald Palma

Born in New York City, Donald Palma is a graduate of The Juilliard School. He studied double bass with Frederick Zimmermann, Robert Brennand, Orin O’Brien, and Homer Mensch. A former member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he has also been Principal Bass of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the American Composers Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with which he has toured the world and recorded over fifty CDs, including a Grammy Award-winning CD of Stravinsky works. In Summer of 2021, Deutsche Grammophon issued a fifty-five CD set of the Orpheus recordings, including a Grammy award winning CD of Stravinsky's works. Palma has performed with the Juilliard Quartet, the Nash Ensemble, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Da Camera Society of Houston, the Borromeo Quartet, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and in recital with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jean-Pierre Rampal, and Jan DeGaetani. He was music director of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and is currently music director of the Symphony-by-the-Sea in Marblehead, MA and the NEC Chamber Orchestra. Don’s extensive recordings include diverse offerings from works written for him by Elliott Carter and Mario Davidovsky, to a Wagner Ring Cycle with the Metropolitan Opera, to recordings with Kathleen Battle and rock/pop-icons Roger Waters and Sting. Don is currently on the faculties of the New England Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. His students occupy positions in major orchestras, ensembles, and universities all over the globe.