Maggie Cox, Double Bass
Marguerite Cox is a double bassist from Northeast Ohio.
In 2023, Marguerite received her master’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Maggie was a member of the first-ever class of instrumental master’s students, and the first-ever recipient of a Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from the Curtis Institute. She is a graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she was a student of Paul Ellison and worked closely with Tim Pitts.
As a soloist, Marguerite has appeared in recitals for the Curtis Student Recital Series, Illuminate Women’s Music, the International New Music Festival, Bass Players for Black Composers, and Sound Off: Music for Bail. Marguerite has recently performed with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and Kebra-Seyoun Charles at the Kaufman Music Center.
Marguerite has appeared as a guest musician with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and with Houston-based ensembles KINETIC and Loop38.
While at Rice, Marguerite earned a minor in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities. As a student in the PJHC program, Marguerite organized a series of benefit concerts called Artists for Action, bringing together musicians of all genres and backgrounds for an evening of music and community engagement.
Marguerite is a co-founder of PAGE (the Project for All Gender Equity) and led the first-ever panel discussion on gender and double bass at the 2018 International Society of Bassists convention at Indiana University. Marguerite returned to the 2021 ISB Convention to host a second panel highlighting gender disparities in the bass community. Marguerite also appeared in the International Society of Bassist’s Center Stage series several times, participating in a feature of Bass Players for Black Composers and leading a panel discussion on diversity in the bass community. Marguerite has been interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition, WHYY, Jason Heath’s Contrabass Conversations, Trysteropod, and Cafe Ribbit.
Maggie has a special interest in performing new music. As a part of the 2021 Curtis Student Recital Series Marguerite performed Darian Donovan Thomas’s A Disintegrating Foundation Under a Catastrophe of Air. In December 2020, Marguerite presented a recital of new works for double bass written by women as part of the Illuminate Women’s Music digital concert series. Marguerite’s junior recital at Rice included the Houston premieres of both Ondas, by Sonia Ray, and Pantomime, by Sofia Gubaidalina. In 2018, as a fellow at the Music Academy of the West, Marguerite premiered Timothy Higgins’ Nursery Crimes, performing alongside soprano Deborah Voigt. Additionally, In January 2021, Marguerite was a featured performer at the virtual International New Music Festival.
Marguerite has been lucky to be a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, and Sarasota Music Festival. Marguerite has also spent summers at the Domaine Forget International Academy and the Wabass Institute. In August 2022, Marguerite completed a residency at Avaloch Farms.
Marguerite has played under the baton of many noteworthy conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Andris Nelsons, Stephane Deneve, Elim Chan, Thomas Ades, and Larry Rachleff. Her teachers and mentors have included Hal Robinson, Edgar Meyer, Paul Ellison, Tim Pitts, Leigh Mesh, Tracy Rowell, Henry Peyrebrune, and Bryan Thomas.