An event held by the TCU School of Music is expected to be one of the largest double bass festivals in North America, professor of double bass and artistic director for the festival Yuan Xiong Lu said.

The 2012 TCU International Double Bass Festival plans to have internationally known musicians performing this weekend, he said.

Everything associated with the double bass instrument would be available at the festival, Lu said. Performers, professors and vendors would be there, as well.

“It’s going to be a fantastic event,” Lu said.

The festival was meant to raise the profile of the TCU School of Music, he said. The famous musicians and composers who will attend the festival could give the school international attention.

The rarity of the opportunity to listen to great pieces of music, which for this festival were chosen to appeal to TCU students, should not be ignored, Lu said.

More than 100 double bass musicians and composers plan to attend the festival, Lu said. These people are the best in the world and will come from all over the globe.

Timothy Cobb, the chair of the double bass department at the Juilliard School in New York City, will be featured as a guest artist at the festival and perform a recital, Lu said. Steve Reeves from the Melbourne Symphony in Australia will perform, as well.

In addition to the established performers, TCU students are scheduled to perform at the festival as well, he said.

TCU graduate student Chike Okaro said he would play in a masterclass at the festival and that he would be honored to learn from the greatest double bass musicians in the world.

Lu said the festival would not only include performances but lectures, masterclasses and clinics, as well. The festival would consist of eleven masterclasses, five recitals and four lectures.

There, also, will be a competition of double bass performances, Lu said. First prize will be $1,000, second prize will be $500 and third prize will be $300.

Lu said the planning for the festival was not easy and involved bringing in performers from all over the world, which required a big commitment from the performers.

But Lu said he was excited that all of the planning would result in a great festival, he said.

Janet Pummill, associate professor of professional practice in music and coordinator of collaborative piano, said the whole festival would be podcast on the School of Music website. TCU students could participate in the festival anywhere in the world via the podcast no matter where they are on Spring Break.

Pummill also will be one of the pianists playing in the guest recitals, she said.

TCU 2012 International Double Bass Festival

When: 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: TCU School of Music — Ed Landreth Hall and PepsiCo Recital Hall
Cost: $20 at the door, $15 in advance
For a detailed schedule of events, go to music.tcu.edu/BassFest2012.asp.