Let’s Talk Bassoon Episode 7 …. Anxiety!

Let’s Talk Bassoon Episode 7 …. Anxiety!

by | Apr 24, 2024

Let’s Talk Bassoon Episode 7 –
Performance Anxiety

Canadian bassoonist Julia Lockhart has been the Principal Bassoon for the Vancouver Symphony for 19 years.  In this episode, she spoke about her work and her techniques for dealing with performance anxiety.  We think you find this discussion illuminating.

Julia Lockhart

A native of Calgary, Julia gained her first professional experience at age sixteen, playing as an extra musician in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in bassoon and a Diploma in harpsichord. Her Master of Music was completed through studies at Yale and UBC.  Her teachers have included bassoonists Bernard Garfield, Nadina Mackie Jackson, Michael Hope, Frank Morelli, and Jesse Read.
 
 
As a teacher, Julia has served on faculty at UBC and has given guest master classes at several other Canadian universities. She has also been a guest artist at the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy, on the Sunshine Coast.  She is particularly dedicated to helping students of any instrument overcome performance anxiety, giving classes on this at the VSO Institute, University of Toronto, and the VSO School.
 
 
Julia has played chamber concerts throughout the Vancouver area and the BC Interior. She has created and performed arrangements for solo bassoon with piano, with classical guitar, and for bassoon quartet. In her spare time, Julia enjoys gardening and creating mosaic art.

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Let’s Talk Bassoon Episode 6

Let’s Talk Bassoon Episode 6

by | Feb 25, 2024

Let’s Talk Bassoon – Episode 6

Canadian bassoonist Gareth Thomas has been a member of the bassoon section of the Cleveland Orchestra for almost a decade. In this episode, he speaks with Calgary Philharmonic bassoonist Michael Hope about their shared affection for vintage Heckels and his life in one of the world’s great orchestras.

Gareth Thomas

Gareth Thomas joined The Cleveland Orchestra in January 2015. He previously served as principal bassoon of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra 2010-14. He received a bachelor of music degree with academic honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2009 and a master of music degree from Northwestern University in 2010. His teachers have included John Clouser, principal bassoon of The Cleveland Orchestra, and Christopher Millard, principal bassoon of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Gareth Thomas received the George F. Goslee Prize in bassoon at CIM and first prize at the 2006 National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition. He has appeared as soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and has participated in the Pacific Music Festival and the Sarasota Music Festival.

Michael Hope

Michael Hope joined the bassoon section of Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in 1982, and is one of Calgary’s most respected artists through his musicianship and his dedication to the life of our musical community. In addition to playing the bassoon, he has a remarkable second career as a highly praised vocalist. Hope first sang a symphonic pops show with the Calgary Phil in 1990. Since then, he has appeared as a popular soloist with nearly every Canadian orchestra. As a singer, he first gained recognition as the winner of the 1984 Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival Rose Bowl, and First Prize Winner in the 1988 CMC International Stepping Stones Competition. A prolific recording artist, he has made a number of critically acclaimed albums, and his latest CD of Classic inspirational songs, Hallelujah, won a Covenant Award Nomination for “Inspirational Album of the Year.”

Born in Toronto, Hope is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied bassoon with Bernard Garfield and Sol Schoenbach.

Featured performers…Wolfgang Scheitinger and Eric Li

Currently attending the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Wolfgang Scheitinger seeks out unrecorded and underplayed works for the bassoon. Scheitinger was a finalist in SUNY Fredonia’s 2022 Concerto competition playing Jean Françaix’s “Divertissement” and has performed with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra on both bassoon and contrabassoon. His teachers have included Mark Timmerman, Harry Searing, Laura Koepke, and Glenn Einschlag. Alongside playing bassoon, he also enjoys composing and has had works premiered by Transient Canvas, Mateo Mendez, and the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble and was featured at the 2021 Society of Composers Inc. National Conference.

Eric James Li is an active bassoon performer based in Vancouver, Canada. Eric currently studies bassoon performance at the University of British Columbia under the direction of Ingrid Chiang. In addition, Eric has participated in masterclasses with Christopher Millard, Nadina Mackie Jackson, Julia Lockhart, Kathleen McLean, Suzanne Nelsen, and Michael Sundell. As an avid chamber musician, Eric performs regularly in woodwind quintets, trios, and double quintet projects in and around Vancouver. Eric’s orchestral experiences include but are not limited to the UBC Symphony Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Vancouver Opera, and Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. 

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Let’s Talk [2nd] Bassoon Episode 5

Let’s Talk [2nd] Bassoon Episode 5

by | Jan 18, 2024

Let’s Talk Bassoon – Episode 5

Two distinguished Canadian bassoonists – Suzanne Nelsen and Samuel Banks – join host Darren Hicks for a webinar discussion about their lives in the bass clef.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Bassoons, NACO Principal Bassoon Darren Hicks hosted Suzanne Nelsen of the Boston Symphony and Samuel Banks of the Toronto Symphony.  Their discussion included a wide range of issues: sound, balance, reeds, excerpts and the complex challenges of playing second bassoon.

Jo Ann Simpson

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Sophie and Michael in Conversation

Sophie and Michael in Conversation

by | Jan 9, 2024

Let’s Talk Bassoon! Sophie Dervaux with Michael Hope

 

LET’S TALK BASSOON is an online series of conversations, seminars and/or masterclasses featuring some of the world’s foremost bassoonists.

Episode 4 – Watch it NOW!

Calgary Philharmonic bassoonist Michael Hope in conversation with Vienna Philharmonic Principal Bassoon Sophie Dervaux – a wonderful introduction to one of the great bassoon artists of our time.  Ms. Dervaux talks about music, instruments, reeds, orchestral dynamics and reveals a quiet self-confidence beneath her charming sincerity.

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Let’s Talk Bassoon – OSM Greatest Hits

Let’s Talk Bassoon – OSM Greatest Hits

by | Nov 7, 2023

Let’s Talk Bassoon

OSM Greatest Hits for Bassoon: Ravel and Stravinsky

 

LET’S TALK BASSOON is an online series of conversations, seminars and/or masterclasses featuring some of Canada’s foremost bassoonists.

Episode 3 aired on NOVEMBER 26, 2023…Watch it NOW!

Episode 3 of Let’s Talk Bassoon took place on Sunday November 26 at 1 pm ET. Council of Canadian Bassoonists board member (and principal bassoon of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) Stephane Levesque lead us in an exploration of the bassoon parts of Ravel and Stravinsky in a class titled “Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Greatest Hits”.

The class featured four students from the McGill University School of Music – Matthew So, Daniel Zaldana, Zoe SirLouis and Leah Espinoza.

Featured performers for this class – Zoë SirLouis, Matthew So, Daniel Zaldana and Leah Espinoza

 

Zoë SirLouis is currently under the tutelage of Stéphane Lévesque, Principal Bassoon of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, as a graduate student at McGill University. Having recently earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Bassoon Performance from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM), she has been incredibly fortunate to be a student of the esteemed Christopher Sales and Martin Garcia. Zoë was recently awarded a generous scholarship from the 3Arts Foundation as a 2023 winner in the category of Instrumental Music. During the summer of 2022, she was invited to perform as the Principal Bassoonist for the Berlin Opera Academy Orchestra and has also participated in the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Music Academy and the Orford Music Academy. Based in Tampa, Florida, her musical journey began at the age of 10 with piano lessons and the clarinet before becoming a driven young bassoonist.

Originally from Hong Kong, Matthew began playing bassoon at the age of 12 and is currently based in Toronto and Montreal. He is currently entering his final year in his undergraduate degree for bassoon performance at McGill University, under the guidance of Stephane Levesque. He has also studied with Nguyen Bao Anh in Hong Kong, Fraser Jackson, contrabassoonist for Toronto Symphony Orchestra and worked with numerous distinguished bassoonists including Susan Durnin, Carin Miller, Eric Hall, Michael Sundell. Currently a member for the McGill Symphony Orchestra and McGill wind orchestra, he was also a member of Toronto symphony youth orchestra for 2 years. Matthew has also participated in the IDRS (International Double Reed Society) summer camp at Japan in 2015, the Kiwanis Clubs competition where he won first place, and the Ontario Music Festival association where he received second place. Throughout his youth, Matthew also played piano, saxophone, and oboe.

Leah Espinoza is originally from Lafayette, Louisiana. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in bassoon performance at McGill University studying with Stéphane Lévesque. Leah received a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance and a minor in French from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. There, she studied under Darrel Hale, William Ludwig, and Nanci Belmont. During her time at LSU, she performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Monroe Symphony Orchestra in Monroe, Louisiana, and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra in Lafayette, Louisiana.

 

At McGill, Leah is a member of the McGill Symphony Orchestra. She is an active member of a woodwind trio and a woodwind quintet. In the summer of 2023, Leah was selected to participate in the chamber and orchestral programs at the Trentino Music Festival in Trento, Italy.

A native of South Florida, Daniel Zaldana is currently studying at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University studying under Stephane Levesque. Daniel is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan, studying with Dr. Jeffrey Lyman for his Undergraduate degree. Before his undergraduate degree, Daniel studied both at the summer and academy programs at Interlochen Center for the Arts studying with Dr. Eric Stomberg, William Short and Keith Buncke. During his studies throughout the many institutions, Daniel has had many opportunities to experiences and learn from a variety of influences. Such as an extensive chamber experience performing with many groups, learning more about arts administration work including volunteering with the office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Michigan. All these different experiences, and all the people he has had the wonderful opportunity to meet and connect with, has greatly expanded his own ambitions and plans for his career ventures.”

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