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Bassist Brings Bach To Unconventional Spaces, Like War-Torn Countries And Prison Inmates

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Amanda Magnus
Published March 6, 2018 at 12:54 PM EST

Richard Hartshorne, known internationally as “Dobbs,” left the classical music world in 2004 to play Bach for audiences who do not usually have access to it. The double bassist founded “Bach With Verse,” a non-profit that brings music to audiences that otherwise would not get it. Dobbs has played in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and in prisons around the United States.

Dobbs is the founder of Bach with Verse, which brings classical music to a diverse range of audiences around the world.
Credit Courtesy of Bach with Verse
Dobbs is the founder of Bach with Verse, which brings classical music to a diverse range of audiences around the world.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with double bassist Richard 'Dobbs' Hartshorne about his project 'Bach with Verse' and his upcoming appearance at the North Carolina Bach Festival.

Host Frank Stasio talks to Dobbs about why he created Bach with Verse and what audiences experience when they listen to him play. Dobbs also performs live in studio. Dobbs is in the state as part of the North Carolina Bach Festival. He performs Tuesday, March 6 at Red Oak’s Lager Haus and Biergarten in Whitsett. 

Dobbs performing at a school for girls in Afghanistan.
Courtesy of Bach With Verse /
Dobbs performing at a school for girls in Afghanistan.
Dobbs playing for people at a Syrian refugee camp.
Courtesy of Bach With Verse /
Dobbs playing for people at a Syrian refugee camp.

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.
See stories by Amanda Magnus