Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Rebecca Lawrence (b. 1995) is known for her collaborative work as a contemporary and early music double bassist in Europe and the USA. Most at home in creative small ensemble environments, Rebecca is passionate about working with living composers and providing a solid ensemble foundation while imagining new possibilities for the double bass and its predecessors in various contexts. Rebecca has performed with Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, ensemblekollektiv Berlin, Tempus Konnex, Ensemble Experimental, the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, and appeared at many of Europe’s most important music festivals including ManiFeste, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, and Time of Music. Additionally, Rebecca studies historical double bass and viola da gamba at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt. She combines her interest in contemporary and baroque music with individual projects involving improvisation on early instruments.

As a soloist, Rebecca has had the opportunity to bring new works of various composers to their premieres. In the prizewinner’s concert of the Deutcher Musikwettbewerb 2023, Rebecca performed Patrick Schäfer’s “Umarmungen”, winner of the Deutschlandfunk Prize, as well as premiering the other finalist compositions for solo double bass in the competition’s final round. In 2023, she presented solo recitals at the Contemporary Insights Concert Salon (Leipzig), Naxoshallenkonzerten (Frankfurt) and Wayward Music Series (Seattle).

Rebecca was raised in Seattle, Washington, and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, California, where she studied double bass with David Allen Moore and Paul Ellison. In Los Angeles, Rebecca played with orchestras, small ensembles and in film recording studios, and attended festivals where she played with members of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the Bang on a Can collective. In 2018, she was granted a residency at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, France, to study with bassist and pedagogue François Rabbath. In the 2021/2022 season Rebecca was the double bassist of the International Ensemble Modern Akademie.

As an activist and educator, Rebecca has worked with various initiatives promoting accessibility and equality in the arts. She collaborates frequently with LA’s Street Symphony, led by activist Vijay Gupta. Additionally, she is a founding member of the commissioning collective Bass Players for Black Composers, and the Project for All Gender Equality, working with the International Society of Bassists to lead discussions about gender discrimination among double bassists.