Bass
phillip helm, assistant principal
Phillip serves as a member of the West Point Band, principal bassist of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, assistant principal bassist of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra.
Phillip performs regularly with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Maverick Chamber Players, Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, and the new music group Dogs of Desire. He has performed as a soloist with the West Point Band, the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra and the Albany Symphony.
Phillip has played as first-call substitute with the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonics, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, and the Syracuse Symphony. He has also played with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Berkshire Bach Society, Kairos Consort, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Greenwich Symphony, the Amarillo Symphony, the Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra and the Key West Symphony.
His extensive commercial and orchestral work has included playing with such notable performers as Clay Aiken, Joshua Bell, Michael Bolton, Celtic Woman, Cirque Du Soleil, Placido Domingo, Josh Groban, the Irish Tenors, Olivia Newton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Bette Midler, Natalie Merchant, Edgar Meyer, Luciano Pavarotti, and Kenny Rogers. Phillip has also played on the Game of Thrones Live Concert experience tour, the Lincoln Center production of Camelot and the tour of Sponge Bob the Musical.
Phillip has taught at Vassar College, SUNY New Paltz, Bard College, and the Stringendo Music School. He has also been the bass coach with the Empire State and Hudson Valley Youth Orchestra.
Phillip earned his Bachelor of Music from West Texas A&M University where he studied with David Murray. He also attended the Manhattan School of Music college and pre-college divisions, where he studied with Linda McKnight. As a student, Phillip spent his summers studying with Gary Karr on Vancouver Island in Canada. He received additional summer training performing with the Bard College Conductors Institute Orchestra and with the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. Phillip has also studied with Paul Bresciani, John Feeney, and Leigh Mesh.
luke baker
Luke Baker has been Principal Bassist of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra since 2000, and a member of the bass section of the Albany Symphony since 1987. He attended Northwestern University, studying with former Chicago Symphony Principal Bassist Joseph Guastafeste, and New England Conservatory, studying with Boston Symphony Assistant Principal Bassist Lawrence Wolfe. Baker currently teaches bass at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and also at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY and has taught bass at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY, and Williams College in Williamstown, MA. He maintains an active teaching studio in the Albany, NY area, and has coached the bass sections of the Empire State Youth Orchestra, Vermont Youth Orchestra, and Boston Youth Symphony.
Baker lives in Albany, NY with his wife Karen and two cats. He enjoys gardening, travel, hiking, backgammon and cooking
Joshua DEPOINT
Joshua joined the Albany Symphony in 2021. A native of Buffalo, NY, he began studying the double bass at the age of 9. Joshua graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Music degree and a Performer’s Certificate in double bass performance from the Eastman School of Music. He went on to study at the Yale School of Music, graduating in 2017 with a Master’s degree in double bass performance. He was a member of The Orchestra Now from 2017 until 2022. His primary teachers include Don Palma, James VanDemark, Leigh Mesh, and Peter Lloyd.
He performs regularly as a substitute musician with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. He is a substitute musician with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony. He is an adjunct double bass instructor at SUNY New Paltz, and holds a teaching studio in Poughkeepsie.
Joshua has an active lifestyle weightlifting and hiking in his free time, and enjoys sharing cooking and mixology with friends and family. He performs on a bass made by luthier Mike Griffin in 2013.