Charles Block performs with top orchestras in the upper Midwest and abroad
Charles Block studied double bass with Shinji Eshima at San Francisco State University and Bruce Bransby at Indiana University. He first joined the WCO in 2004 as a section member, rejoining by audition as principal in 2011. You can find him playing regularly around the Twin Cities as a substitute/extra with Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Broadway shows, and chamber music, or teaching at UW River Falls.
He served as Principal Bass of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra from 2010-20 and Associate Principal of the Memphis Symphony from 2006-08, and was a tenured member of the Madison Symphony bass section from 2005-07. In past years Charles has been fortunate to work as a substitute/extra with many of the top orchestras in the upper Midwest, including the Chicago Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Grant Park Orchestra, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Internationally, Charles has worked with the RTE National Symphony in Dublin, Ireland, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Macao Orchestra, and the Thunder Bay Symphony in Canada among others. Charles lives in Minneapolis with his wife Kate Nettleman (who is herself a WCO alumna and current member of the Minnesota Orchestra) and their daughter Inez.
