A Mecca for Canadian Bassoonists

As a student at the Conservatoire in Montréal in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I went to hear the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) nearly every week, but I also loved going to hear the McGill Symphony Orchestra concerts. I was friends with a few students there, and over the years I met some of the faculty members, such as Bruce Bower, Nadina Mackie Jackson, John Clouser and Whitney Crockett, who were all at one point members of the OSM. Then when I joined the OSM in 1998, I was delighted to get a call to see if I would be interested in teaching at McGill. I have always felt very lucky that my teachers – Rodolfo Masella, Stephen Maxym and Frank Morelli – were so generous and inspiring, and so I was excited – and a bit nervous – to start sharing ideas with the students at McGill. I was thankful that the students, some of which had been working with multiple teachers before I started, were welcoming, open-minded and receptive – we were off to a good start.

Frank Morelli (1951 –  )

Stéphane Lévesque’s first teacher Rodolfo Masella (1928 – 1996). Masella was the Principal for the OSM from 1954 to 1968. He was succeeded by Sidney Rosenberg, David Carroll and Richard Hoenich.

What has always been important to me is that the students in the bassoon studio at McGill feel that they are part of a supportive community. Everyone comes in at their own level, with their own challenges and talents, and our job is to guide them to be better versions of themselves, to go from bassoon students to artists, and not simply work to become clones of their teachers. And the number 1 rule for McGill bassoon students will always remain the same: work hard and be nice! The connections we make as students can last a lifetime, and I love it when I hear current and former McGill students recommending each other for gigs.

Another essential aspect of being a music student is that we have to be absolutely, insanely, madly passionate about music. We have to go to as many concerts as we can, from orchestra to chamber music but also to performances of other instrumentalists – for example, I learned a lot by going to voice and cello recitals. And let’s not forget about jazz and rock concerts, which can help take your mind off reed making for a few hours. And as bassoon students, we must strive to be bassoon geeks – you wanna talk about cane, reeds, shapers, profilers, instruments, bassoon recordings, new works? Let’s go!

I am very proud of all the students I have had the chance to work with at McGill. It’s always a special moment when a student wins a position in an orchestra, in Canada or abroad, but it is also the reality that there are very few positions that open up. That’s why I am also proud of the students who have gone on to busy freelance careers; to start their own private teaching studios; to teach music or band in schools; to work in arts management, etc. And I am also proud of the students who went on to become lawyers or to work in other unrelated fields!

It all started with a Bassoon Extravaganza concert with the OSM bassoon section in 2002, and since then it’s been a highlight of my year to bring in friends from all over the world to be our Bassoon Day guest artists. We are also lucky to welcome attendants from the greater Montréal area, of course, but also from elsewhere throughout Québec, from Ontario, from New Brunswick, and also from upstate New York as well as New England. And to have 30, 35 or even 40 of the Bassoon Day attendants join us on stage for the Ensemble Finale still gives me goosebumps to this day.

Every Bassoon Day is a special and exciting affair, but our online (i.e. pandemic) edition in 2021 stands out. It was one of the many virtual events which we had become somewhat accustomed to during the pandemic, but instead of having only one guest artist, we had 7 former members of the OSM bassoon section, as well as two current ones. How amazing it was to share Zoom screens with (in alphabetical order) John Clouser, Whitney Crockett, Mathieu Harel, Richard Hoenich, Nadina Mackie Jackson, Suzanne Nelsen, Phil Pandolfi, Mark Romatz, and Michael Sundell. And in addition to each OSM bassoonist working with one McGill student, we also had a virtual concert where we got to hear our guests in solo and chamber works. It was a very moving experience to have such an exciting group of bassoon colleagues together and to share many OSM stories and experiences.

….Stéphane Lévesque, then and now!

I look forward to seeing many of you in the future, either as applicants and future students at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, or at one of our Bassoon Days! 

Stéphane Lévesque has held the position of Principal Bassoon with the OSM since 1998.  He is a Board member of The Council of Canadian Bassoonists.