Søren Nissen

Soren Nissen is a professional bassist and educator living in Toronto, Canada. He is a creative yet grounded bassist with a strong rhythmic propulsion, technical expertise and musical sensitivity that is recognizable across many musical genres and settings. Soren is an in demand performer and educator in Canada and abroad and is dedicated to embracing and sharing the lifelong learning process that music holds. Soren's musical roots formed in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where classical piano and acoustic bass lessons introduced him to the fundamentals of music. He left formal piano study after at the age of 14 to pursue the acoustic and electric bass with more focused study. By the age of 17, Soren was principal bassist of the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra and had begun actively exploring other genres of music with a particular interest in jazz.

His passion for jazz grew while attending shows at the local jazz club, The Bassment and by connecting with mentors who generously shared the music with him. Two of these mentors were Mark DeJong and Dean McNeil who ran local jazz workshops, lectured at the university, and direceted ensembles which Soren participated in. They hired Soren for a weekly jazz gig allowing him to gain valuable playing experience in a challenging environment. This is where he began developing his ears, musicianship and true love for jazz and improvisation. After a brief stint of general studies at the University of Saskatchewan, Soren decided to pursue music full time and in 2008, began studying music at Humber College in Toronto. While at Humber, Soren was a three year member of the prestigious Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble and studied with incredible teachers such as Neil Swainson, Mike Downes, Pat LaBarbera, and Kirk MacDonald. He also performed with visiting faculty including Terence Blanchard, Danilo Perez, Guido Basso, Bob Mintzer, and Dave Holland. Soren was a special guest performer and workshop participant at the Atina Jazz Festival in Italy in 2012 and attended the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in 2013 where he studied with Vijay Iyer, Linda Oh, Esperanza Spalding, Stephan Crump, Ravi Coltrane and many other world renown artists. He has been a featured guest on Jazz.FM's Jazzology and has received the Yamaha Canada Jazz Scholarship, the Toronto Musicians’ Association Moe Koffman Memorial Award, the Edward L. Frankel Award, the prestigious Oscar Peterson Award and The President's Award during his time at Humber College. He has performed with Vincent Herring, Pat LaBarbera, P.J. Perry, Oliver Jones, Adam O'Farrill, Kavita Shah, Cambell Ryga, Steven Bernstein and many other internationally renown artists. Soren's performing and teaching has taken him throughout Canada, South America, Europe, India and the United States including an appearance at the Blue Note in New York City.

Soren is passionate about sharing his love for music with others and runs a private teaching studio in Toronto where he teaches lessons to all levels of acoustic and electric bassists who want to develop their skills and love for music. He is also a private bass instructor and ensemble director with the Humber Community Music Program in Toronto. He has been an international faculty member at Global Music Institute (GMI) in New Delhi, India teaching the official Berklee College of Music curriculum. He taught music theory, private lessons, bass masterclass, ensemble classes, and basic piano skills while at GMI. Soren is a returning faculty member at the TD Canada Trust Jazz Intensive each year during the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival and is a guest clinician at many schools and other musical organizations throughout the year.

Awards

Toronto Arts Council - Creation Grant Recipient - 2016 The Oscar Peterson Award - (Humber Music - 2012) The President's Medal - (School of Creative and Performing Arts - 2012) Yamaha Canada Jazz Scholarship (2011) Edward L. Frankel Award (2010) Toronto Musicians' Association - Moe Koffman Award (2009) Performing Arts and Music Award - (Evan Hardy Collegiate - 2006) Phillip W. McMeans Memorial String Scholarship (2005)