Heather Miller Lardin

Heather is an enthusiastic performer, teacher, and scholar of the double bass, both on modern and period instruments. She is principal bassist of the Handel + Haydn Society and director of the Early Music Ensemble at Temple University. She holds a DMA in Historical Performance Practice from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Double Bass Performance from the Curtis Institute of Music.  

Among Heather’s regular engagements are the Bethlehem Bach Choir, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Tempesta di Mare, Brandywine Baroque, Choral Arts Philadelphia, and Staunton Music Festival. She was a member of the Virginia Symphony from 1996-2002 and the Binghamton Symphony from 2006-08.

Heather particularly enjoys teaching beginning and young bassists, with a focus on adapting healthy technique to each individual’s physical needs. She taught double bass and viola da gamba at Cornell University for ten years, where she also led Cornell’s Baroque orchestra. Lardin was the Artistic Director of the Ithaca-based period instrument ensemble NYS Baroque, from 2006 to 2013.

Heather has been the editor of the early bass feature “Rumblings” in Bass World, the journal of the International Society of Bassists (ISB), and regularly appears in lectures and recitals at the ISB’s biannual conventions. She makes her home in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two children.