Marcus Awards Applications Now Open

The Council of Canadian Bassoonists is proud to present two annual scholarships, The Frank Marcus Awards. The awards will be distributed to one undergraduate and one graduate student enrolled as bassoon majors in a Canadian University or Conservatory in the 2024-2025 academic year.

• Two awards of $500

• Winners’ activities will be featured on the Council website for one year

• Winners receive several online lessons with Council mentors upon approval of current teachers. 

April 1, 2024: Online Applications Open

July 15, 2024: Online applications due by 11:59 pm PST

August 15, 2024: Conditional recipients notified by email.

Students will have six months to redeem their scholarship vouchers, paid by eTransfer.

 Application Requirements

You will need to submit through the online application form found here. Your complete application will include:

1. 1 Written Response: Describe an experience that inspired you to pursue bassoon in your post-secondary studies. Who do you want to be in five years, and why?
2. 1-2 Performance Examples (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.): An example of your best performance on the bassoon. Your repertoire must be stated on video and/or in the video description. Suggested duration: 15 minutes
3. 1 Reference Letter: from a current or former teacher or music teacher or studio instructor.
4. 1 Unofficial Academic Transcript: from your current high school or post-secondary school.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada as of the application deadline.
• be enrolled in, have applied for, or will apply for full-time admission to an eligible undergraduate or graduate program at a Canadian institution.

Students selected as conditional recipients of the 2024 Frank Marcus Awards must provide the COCB with Proof of Enrollment for the Fall 2024 term by August 31, 2024, to be confirmed as a recipient and receive the award.

For a proof of enrolment document to be valid, it must all of the below:

• • Full name of student.
  • School name.
  • Academic term and year enrolled.
  • Date issued.
  • Program of study.
• Letters of acceptance and offers of admission do not adequately prove enrolment in the 2024-2025 academic year.

How Applications are Evaluated

All applicants are evaluated by at least three COCB board members* on the following two standard criteria:

• Your Written Statement and your submitted Performance Examples
• Your academic transcript, complemented by a letter of recommendation from a teacher, which attests to your scholarly achievements.
• Preference will be given to those who indicate current or future enrolment in a Bachelor of Music or Master of Music program.

*board members are not permitted to assess the applications of their own students.

Questions?

Please contact the Council of Canadian Bassoonists scholarship team at: emilyr.carlsen@gmail.com

Paul Buttemer Day 2023

COME IN PERSON

Experienced reed makers: bring your tools, cane and machines. Take time off to make reeds, be in community, and share insights and conversation. If you have never made reeds: this is an opportunity to get started.

Provided:

• Paul Buttemer cane (gouged, shaped and profiled) at no cost.
• Tools are shared.
• Instruction is provided.
• And there are snacks!

Date: Thursday, May 4, 2023

Time: 9 am to 9 pm. Drop in and out anytime

Where: 179 Metcalfe St., 2nd floor. Ottawa ON Canada.

This is the day when, every year for the past 15 years, JO ANN SIMPSON hosts a REED MAKING MARATHON in remembrance of Canadian bassoonist and reed innovator, PAUL BUTTEMER, who died suddenly on May 4, 2008.  Two wonderful guests will join us via Zoom:

11:00 AM EDT – Andrew Burn joins us from Basel Switzerland. He will introduce us to the Herzberg-style tip template, which he has helped design for Reeds n Such.

3:00 PM EDT –  Jim Ewen from Winnipeg, Manitoba will show us the Greg James Edge Clamping Gouging system and the Greg James Profiler and explain the impact that these 2 machines have had on the success and consistency of his reed making.

JOIN US ONLINE

Too far away (or just too busy?) to make it to Ottawa in person this year? Drop in on Zoom!

Register in advance for the Zoom meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Zoom meeting.

You can also follow the event on Facebook (note: you don’t have to be on Facebook).

We are delighted to announce several new members to the COCB Board of Directors!

Welcome Stéphane Levesque, Richard Ranti, Darren Hicks, Gabe Azzie, Nicolas Richard, Barbara Finch, Emily Carlsen, Heather Gibson

Please visit our Board page…

Council of Canadian Bassoonists

AGM November 13, 2022

Stay Tuned

Let’s Talk Bassoon, Season 1, Episode #2

The 18th century was a golden age for the bassoon with 37 complete Vivaldi concertos, dozens of Boismortier sonatas, and many works by Corrette, Telemann, Fasch, and others. However, the notated music shows us very little about HOW to play this music. The secrets to performance are often hidden in old method books.

Researching all of them could seem like a life-long quest. There is a shortcut!

Attend “UPPER NOTE OR NOT? BAROQUE 101 FOR MODERN BASSOONISTS”

Zoom Event: Friday, May 21 at 4 pm EDT

Hosted by Jo Ann Simpson, Council of Canadian Bassoonists

Mathieu Lussier introduces practical and immediately useful concepts about ornamentation, continuo playing, and articulation based on his 25 years of vast performance experience as a renowned Baroque and modern bassoonist, conductor, researcher, and composer.

Join Mathieu Lussier and the Council of Canadian Bassoonists for an hour of insight, humor, and everything you’ve wanted to know about Baroque performance practice but were afraid to ask.

Pre-registration is required!

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pfu6rrTgrHtwibqsBqSi48wNEOMHOfkwQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Bobby Thompson is a bassoonist from the small town of Carp outside Ottawa, Canada. He started the bassoon when he was 10 years old through the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy with JoAnn Simpson, who would be his mentor for 7 years. He enjoyed playing in the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and participating in a side-by-side concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. A foundational part of his bassoon education also came from Brooke Valley Bassoon Days, a week-long program that he attended for many summers throughout elementary and high school. He attended Canterbury High School for the Arts in Ottawa from grades 9-11 and was awarded the Music Woodwind Excellence award. While in Ottawa, he competed in various regional and provincial solo competition prizes such as the Kiwanis Music Festival. He was invited to perform The Weber Bassoon Concerto in F major at the Ottawa Kiwanis Music Festival Highlights Concert in 2018 and had the joy of representing Ottawa woodwinds in OMFA provincials 2019 and was awarded 2nd place. He attended Interlochen Arts Camp for their 6-week orchestra program in the summer of 2019. For his final year of high school, he studied at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan with Dr. Eric Stomberg. He is now finishing his first year at the Juilliard School, studying with New York Philharmonic bassoonist Kim Laskowski for his bachelor of bassoon performance.