Miller Lardin, Heather

heather miller lardin

Heather Miller Lardin is among the nation’s most sought-after performers on historic double basses and one of its most enthusiastic advocates in America. Lardin is principal bassist of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, performs regularly with Philadelphia’s Tempesta di Mare and Delaware’s Brandywine Baroque, and is in frequent demand by many other groups around the country. She is devoted to spreading broader appreciation and enjoyment of these beautiful instruments and to this end, with flutist Steven Zohn founded the Philadelphia-based ensemble Night Music in 2015 which offers a regular season of concerts exploring chamber music from the Revolutionary and Romantic eras. In 2025, Night Music began a collaboration with the vocal ensemble Variant 6 to co-found the Philadelphia Bach Collective, providing free weekday concerts of Bach cantatas to residents and workers in Center City Philadelphia as lunchtime refreshment.

Lardin is committed to teaching others and developing a thriving early-bass community. She joined the faculty of Juilliard Historical Performance in 2025 and also teaches Baroque double bass at New England Conservatory, directs the Temple University Early Music Ensemble, and serves on the faculty of several summer festivals. She creates original pedagogical materials for historical bassists, including a self-paced Baroque Double Bass course for discoverdoublebass.com. Lardin has received the International Society of Bassists Special Recognition Award in both Historical Performance and Scholarship. She studied with Roger Scott at the Curtis Institute of Music and holds a DMA in Historical Performance Practice from Cornell University.