People attending tonight's Oregon East Symphony's performance of Elgar's Violin Concerto and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite at Pendleton's Vert Auditorium will notice Bass in the clarinet section. The CEO ended up in Pendleton after meeting with several Portland musicians who play regularly with the Pendleton symphony group.

Bass, who majored in music at Bucknell University, toyed with the idea of going professional after college. Flipping through the American Federation of Musicians New York City Union Book, however, he decided the competition was too intense for his blood.

"There were 2,500 clarinet players listed," he said.

He stopped playing for about 25 years before getting his clarinet out again and dusting it off about a year and a half ago.

While in Pendleton, Bass talked to the EO about his life at OPB since he arrived in 2006 and how digital technology has catapulted his industry into highly-interesting times.

Bass got good vibes about his new job immediately as he rented a car during his first visit to Portland. As Bass and the attendant walked to his vehicle, they noticed the car's antenna had broken off.

The young man told Bass, "That'll never do - you won't be able to listen to OPB."

"He had no idea I was associated with OPB," Bass said. "I thought, 'I think I'm in Nirvana.' "

OPB's lanky, easy-going CEO oversees a network of five television transmitters, nine radio stations and over 40 translators around the state. The company recently purchased seven more radio stations to combat reception problems near The Dalles, Hood River, Enterprise and John Day.

Bass, who came to Oregon from Nashville's public television station, doesn't seem cowed by the way his industry is morphing at light speed. The Internet and constantly-changing technology make it impossible to look into the future with any sort of clarity, he said, but the possibilities are exciting and endless.

Where radio and television stations once staked out their territories, now "you can literally stream any radio station from anywhere."

Bass said he has an Internet radio in his office.

"I can listen to WNYC from New York City or Minnesota Public Radio," he said.
Soon, he said, anyone will be able to listen to anything from anywhere.

"That's going to turn the world on its head," Bass said.

Bass said he hasn't made too many programming changes at OPB. He did draw some ire when he trimmed a couple hours of classical music from the schedule, though he received no death threats.

Well, maybe one.

"One guy said he was going to put my head on a pike," Bass said, grimacing.

The public broadcasting chief is excited about OPB's newest program, Thinking Out Loud, an online forum and radio broadcast airing each morning at 9 a.m. On the show, Oregonian and former National Public Radio correspondent Emily Harris guides topical discussions from the studio, while David Miller will travel around the state in search of fresh opinion.

This weekend, Bass plans to let work fade away as he concentrates on the music of Elgar and Stravinsky.

The Oregon East Symphony surprised Bass. For such a small town, he said, the group is rich with talent and able to tackle complex music.

"The tempos are so free-flowing, it takes a while to get in the groove of following the conductor," Bass said of Elgar's concerto. "It's a very lush piece."

Stravinsky's Firebird Suite is even higher up the difficulty scale.

"If they were paying me for this," he said, laughing, "I would charge by the note."

The concert, which starts at 7 p.m., features Jorja Fleezanis, violinist and concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, and Michael Steinberg, National Public Radio commentator from Performance Today.