Dennis Whittaker, bassist and educator, will perform a recital at Kansas University on April 2.

Whittaker, originally from Kansas City, is the principal double bassist for the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, a member of the Houston Ballet Orchestra and the bass teacher and string area coordinator for the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. He is also a bass pedagogy consultant and has a full private teaching studio. Whittaker has appeared on six world-premiere compact discs with the Houston Grand Opera, various recordings with Houston-area artists and on recordings as principal bass with the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.

Whittaker was the winner of the Gary Karr Foundation National Double Bass competition in 1987 and has performed recitals, concerts and master classes in Japan, China, Italy, Germany, Los Angeles, Missouri, Kansas and more. He is an alumnus of Baylor and Northwestern universities

Whittaker will be accompanied by Ellen Bottorff, coordinator of collaborative piano at KU, at the free concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Swarthout Recital Hall.