Wilbur H. Simpson (December 6, 1917 in Angola, Indiana – June 17, 1997 in Platte Lake, Michigan) was an American classical bassoonist and pedagogue.
At Northwestern University, he studied with Hugo Fox, principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
During World War II, he served in the navy aboard the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48). He was in the Navy Band that played aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) during the Japanese Surrender.
In 1946, he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, first as contrabassoonist, then as second bassoon, where he remained until his retirement in the fall of 1991. He was awarded the Theodore Thomas Medal for his service to the CSO. He was an original member of the Chicago Symphony Woodwind Quintet, and later the Chicago Symphony Winds, which played throughout the United States and abroad.
He was featured in a segment of the WNIB radio series marking the 100th anniversary of the CSO during 1990-91, along with Adrian Da Prato, a violinist who also had joined the orchestra in 1946. They were the two senior members of the orchestra.
Well known as a teacher, he served as Professor of Bassoon at Northwestern University, and taught at DePaul University and the Chicago Conservatory College. Many of his former pupils now occupy positions in leading orchestras of the world. Among his students was Susan Nigro. [1]
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure in 2010. The CSO is one of five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five".
Arnold Maurice Jacobs was an American tubist who spent most of his career with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He held that position from 1944 until his retirement in 1988.
The Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191/186e, is a bassoon concerto written in 1774 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is the most often performed and studied piece in the entire bassoon repertory. Nearly all professional bassoonists will perform the piece at some stage in their career, and it is probably the most commonly requested piece in orchestral auditions – it is usually requested that the player perform excerpts from the concerto's first two movements in every audition.
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.
Susan L. Nigro is an American contrabassoonist. Unlike most players of the instrument, Nigro's career is primarily as a solo recitalist and recording artist rather than an orchestral player.
Larry Combs is an American clarinetist and educator.
Archie Camden was a British bassoonist; he was a pedagogue and soloist of international acclaim. His career began in 1906 when he joined the Hallé Orchestra, where he became principal bassoonist in 1914. In 1933 he moved to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where he stayed until 1946 when he took up the same position in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Camden was also one of the first bassoonists to experiment with recording. His record of the Mozart bassoon concerto still remains one of the most popular today.
Augusta Read Thomas is an American composer and professor.
Christopher Chapman Rouse III was an American composer. Though he wrote for various ensembles, Rouse is primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, a dozen concertos, and six symphonies. His work received numerous accolades, including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also served as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.
Sherman Abbot Walt was one of the foremost American bassoonists of the 20th century. Born in Virginia, Minnesota, he served in the U.S. Army in World War II, winning a Bronze Star; after his discharge from the service he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as principal bassoonist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1951 he moved to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and served in a similar position there for the remainder of his career. He is featured on numerous recordings as an ensemble player and soloist.
Leonard Sharrow was one of the foremost American bassoonists of the 20th Century. Born in New York City, he joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra when it was first organized, eventually becoming principal bassoonist ; he also served in the U.S. Army in World War II. In 1951 he moved to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the invitation of then-Music Director Rafael Kubelik and served in a similar position there until 1964, when he retired and joined the music faculty at Indiana University Bloomington. He spent many summers on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival before joining the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as co-principal bassoonist in 1977. After retiring from Pittsburgh a decade later he returned to Bloomington, and eventually relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he died of leukemia.
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.
Charles W. P. Cracknell MBE was a British classical bassoonist and pedagogue. He taught at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where his students included John Orford, Helen Peller, Steve Marsden, Laurence Perkins, and Jeremy Ward. He was the principal bassoonist of the Hallé Orchestra for 31 years, from 1946 in 1977. He was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 1972 and awarded an MBE in 1980. He gave the British premiere of Richard Strauss' Duet concertino for clarinet and bassoon with Pat Ryan in 1949.
Hugo Fox was an American classical bassoonist. He also designed and manufactured bassoons and oboes.
Willard Somers Elliot was an American bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1946–1949), bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1951–1956), principal bassoonist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1956–1964), and principal bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1964–1997). Elliot composed and twice performed the Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductors Seiji Ozawa and Jean Martinon.
Anthony Parnther is an American conductor, bassoonist, and educator.
Victor Bruns was a German composer and bassoonist. He played with the Leningrad Opera, the Volksoper Berlin and the Staatskapelle Berlin. As a composer, he is known for his ballets and for bassoon concertos and sonatas.
Dall C. Fields was an American bassoonist, composer, and music educator, who for much of his career, was based in and around Chicago. As a performer, he had been a bassoonist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, and later, the Bachman Woodwind Ensemble. As an educator, he taught mostly in the Chicago area, teaching out of his own studio and through affiliations with the Maywood extension of the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He also taught at Yale University and through affiliations with August Bucci (1897–1935), William Johnson of Valparaiso, Indiana, and the Valpo Music House.
Christopher Martin is an American trumpet player who was named the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in May 2016 and began his tenure there in September 2016. He has also served as Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2005-2017) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (2000-2005), and as Associate Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1997-2000). He has also performed with High Bridge Brass, an American conical brass quintet, since its founding in June 2018. During his time in Chicago, Martin gave the world premieres of several trumpet concerti, notably Christopher Rouse's Heimdall's Trumpet in 2012. Christopher Martin plays on a YTR-9445CHSIII C Trumpet
Ronald James Klimko was an American bassoonist, author, composer, teacher, and performer.