Sienna George: a Double Bassist and Woodworker

Many musicians have much broader interests that extend beyond just performing or creating music.That is why many of them try themselves in creating accessories for musical instruments, helpful devices, or useful upgrades. As musicians, they have the ability to see what an ideal device should look and feel like based on their own experience. This helps these artists create something that caters to other musicians’ needs and helps them expand their boundaries. This article is devoted to one of these talented and multifaceted musicians — Sienna George, whose passion combines dedication to music and woodworking, including creating wooden mutes for a variety of instruments.

Sienna George: Biography and Musical Career

Sienna George is a multifaceted artist and a talented double bass player born and raised in Long Beach, California. Her musical journey began at an early age when she immersed herself in mastering the piano, guitar, cello, and mandolin before embracing the double bass at the age of 13. What Sienna liked about the double bass is its versatility, as it played a supporting role in many genres, as well as deep vibrations produced by this instrument

She attended the Manhattan School of Music, where she learned more about classical repertoire and refined her skills. During her studies there, Sienna made many valuable connections that helped her grow professionally and personally.

She had her debut at Carnegie Hall, when she was 14. Her first orchestra experience was in Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, where she spent 3 years as a principal bassist. With this orchestra, she also went on a summer tour in China.

Sienna performed on stages of many outstanding venues, including Carnegie, Disney Concert, and Segerstrom Hall. In addition to China, as a musician she also attended the Netherlands and Italy. Apart from playing in big venues, Sienna George has performed live in forests, on beaches, cliffs, and even yachts.

Sienna does not limit herself only to a few genres and explores her abilities through a variety of them, including classical, folk, jazz, Arabic, and Indie music. Speaking about her musical achievements, she is a member of Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, NY Arabic Orchestra, and has accompanied Albert and Alexander Markov, as well as actor Alec Baldwin.

Sienna also records as a bassist for Grammy-winning producer Mario Caldato Jr. She took part in many famous festivals, such as LB Love Fest, Idyllwild Summer Festival, Lightning in a Bottle, Echo Park Rising, Long Beach Funk Fest, and others.

She also holds a degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to her musical career, Sienna also worked as a luthier, building and repairing guitars and basses. Currently she has also cultivated a distinctive niche in the realm of woodworking.

Sienna George as a Woodworker

Sienna developed her interest in woodworking from her father, a woodworker, who showed her how to craft mutes while she was a high school student. Sienna was deeply interested in carving on wood, clay, and stone. She believes the art of woodworking is as timeless as classical music. Similar to music, in order to create something from wood, you should first realize what your final goal is. The rest is the process of sculpting or carving on the way to this goal. She also believes that working with wood helps her understand musical instruments better.

When she showed her first wooden mutes to her bass professor in the New York Phil, she immediately found first clients from major orchestras around the world. These days, Sienna carves wooden mutes for classical stringed instruments, such as violin, viola, cello, and bass. Her creations are used by musicians from many leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Zurich Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and more.

Sienna creates her wooden products in her woodshop in California and then brings them to NYC where she refines and sells them. To embody her creative ideas, she mostly uses mahogany, poplar, teak, maple, African purple heart wood, each of which has a great impact on the sound. However, mahogany stays her all-time favorite.

Double Bass Mutes Made by Sienna

A double bass mute is a small device that musicians place on the bridge or strings of a double bass to dampen vibrations, reduce volume, and thus alter the instrument’s sound. It helps achieve more subdued and mellow effects. Double bass mutes are frequently used by orchestral and chamber bassists.

Sienna George offers several types of double bass mutes, made from wood, each altering in shape and thus affecting the timbre and the sound quality in its unique way.

Classic mutes: This design fits a range of basses. It keeps articulation and resonance in volume while influencing tonal colors.
Asymmetrical mutes: These devices allow musicians to adjust the muted range of their instruments, depending on whether their goal is to highlight or mute frequencies.
Other mutes: This collection features pieces created with different intentions and specific sounds in the artist's mind.

Unfortunately, you can’t buy Sienna’s products in local shops. To purchase mutes created by her hand, you can contact her via her website, on Etsy, or by email.

Interesting Facts about Sienna

During her graduating recital at MSM in 2022, Sienna played Bach and Ukrainian music to support Ukrainian people affected by a terrible war. Sienna played double bass and sang some of her original songs with a jazz trio.
Sienna uses a Bass Bow Double Leather Case in light brown, made by MG Leather Work.
In addition to mutes for string instruments, Sienna also carves kitchenware, conductor batons, dices, and smoking accessories.
When she doesn’t perform music or carve wooden creations, she likes to climb rocks or do yoga.

Conclusion

Sienna George is one of those artists who combine passion for music with handcraft. By immersing herself in woodworking she understood the instruments better that helped her grow as a musician.