Jan Mulcahy

Being the first woman to play the double bass continuously with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was a special achievement. I was supported as a team member performing with seven other bass players, and it gave me an experience of the enormous creative power that transforms a humble human being into something magnificent, larger than self, that endures for ever.

When I was a young musician, bass playing satisfied my love of the deeper register and harmony of symphonic music. I was at home and comfortable in the theatre pit, but when the opportunity to perform in the blaze of light and glory on the stage of the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House I loved it.