Ursula Leveaux is an English classical bassoonist. She is Principal Bassoon with the City of London Sinfonia [1] and the Academy of Ancient Music; [2] and is currently the bassoonist of the Nash Ensemble. Leveaux was Principal Bassoon with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 1987 to 2007. [3] She has made numerous recordings, [4] including of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' bassoon concerto, which was written for her. [2] In 2020, she was a judge in the wind and brass final of the 68th Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition. [5]
The Tennessee Bassoon Quartet, formed in 1985, consists of bassoonists Keith McClelland, James Lotz, James Lassen and Michael Benjamin. The four, from Knoxville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, formed the group to provide additional performance opportunities for their bassoon talents. They have performed primarily in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky with a repertoire that includes Renaissance music, jazz, Gilbert and Sullivan, Saint-Saëns, and Scott Joplin.
Bernard Howard Garfield is an American bassoonist, composer, teacher, and recording artist. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he is best known for his long tenure as the principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1957 to 2000.
Judith LeClair, from Newark, Delaware, is an American bassoonist.
Mark Simpson is a British composer and clarinettist from Liverpool. In 2006, he became notable for winning both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year, making him the first and, to date, only person to win both competitions.
Meyrick Alexander is an English bassoonist. He is one of the UK's best known bassoonists and bassoon teachers.
William Waterhouse was an English bassoonist and musicologist. He played with notable orchestras, was a member of the Melos Ensemble, professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, author of the Yehudi Menuhin Music Guide "Bassoon", of The New Langwill Index, and contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Michael Chapman was a British classical bassoonist and reed-maker.
Martin Gatt is a British classical bassoonist. He studied under Archie Camden at the Royal College of Music in London. He served as principal bassoonist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958 to 1966, after which he was appointed principal bassoonist of the English Chamber Orchestra from 1966 to 1976. He also held the post of principal bassoon of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1998, and was the bassoonist in the Barry Tuckwell Wind Quintet from 1967 to 1991. He is also active in music education. At the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts he founded the Department of Wind, Brass and Percussion. He taught at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama from 1967 to 1984, and is currently a professor of Bassoon at the Royal College of Music.
Philip Turbett is a British bassoonist and clarinettist also specialising in historically informed performance.
Milan Turković is an Austrian classical bassoonist and conductor. He originates from an Austro-Croatian family, grew up in Vienna and became internationally known as one of the few bassoon soloists. Over the past two decades, he has become a successful conductor, making appearances all over the world.
Karen Clark (née Geoghegan) is a Scottish classical bassoonist and music educator. Clark appeared on the 2007 BBC Two reality show, Classical Star.
Thom de Klerk (Thomas Johannes Josephus) (10 May 1912, The Hague, Netherlands – 13 October 1966, Abcoude). Dutch bassoonist, double reed maker, music teacher, conductor and music director. Thom de Klerk was the first solo bassoonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1935 until 1966. He was successful with the directors Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum and Bernard Haitink. Guest directors like Eugen Jochum, Arturo Toscanini and Pierre Monteux made special requests for his presence in the orchestra.
Karl David van Hoesen was former principal bassoonist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Professor emeritus of the University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music as chair of the Wind, Brass and Percussion Department. In 1950 he graduated from the Eastman School of Music in New York, USA, with a bachelor's degree. From 1950 to 1954 he was professor of bassoon at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and at the Cleveland Institute of Music (1952–54) after which he joined the Eastman faculty. He was also the second bassoonist of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1952-1954.
Graham Sheen AGSM is a British bassoonist, teacher, composer and arranger. He is principal bassoonist of both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. From 1979 he has been professor of bassoon at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he also teaches chamber music, orchestral repertoire and bassoon ensemble. His published works include solo works for bassoon, chamber music for both winds and strings and three song cycles. He has made numerous arrangements for wind ensemble and three volumes of graded pieces for the bassoon are published by Faber Music. He has recently recorded two solo albums for SFZ music.
Julie Price is an English bassoonist. She is principal bassoonist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Uzi Shalev is an Israeli bassoonist. Since 1987 he is assistant principal bassoonist with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).
Mordechai Rechtman was an Israeli bassoonist, conductor, academic teacher and arranger. He was principal bassoonist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from 1946 to 1991. He was professor of bassoon at the Tel Aviv University from 1968 to 2002, and taught as a guest professor internationally, including the Indiana University School of Music, the Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music. Rechtmann was also known for transcriptions and arrangements for wind quintets and other ensembles that he had founded and conducted, specifically of concertos.
Rachel Gough FRAM is a British classical bassoonist. She has been Principal Bassoon of the London Symphony Orchestra since 1999 and was Co-Principal Bassoon of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 1999.
Margaret Cookhorn is a British classical contrabassoonist and bassoonist. She is Principal Contrabassoon and Bassoon with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, bassoonist with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and, notably, has pursued a career as a contrabassoon soloist. John Woolrich's contrabassoon concerto Falling Down was written for her. She most recently performed the piece at the BBC Proms in 2015.
Nigel Boddice MBE, hon. ARAM was a British trumpet player, conductor and band leader who was prominent in the UK brass band scene. He performed and recorded with many orchestras and bands over his lifetime, including a 20-year tenure as the Section Principal Trumpet of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.