Each summer the NewBassoon Institute brings together bassoonists college-age and beyond to engage deeply with the instrument’s contemporary repertoire and practice, guided by faculty who are leaders in the field of modern bassoon performance and teaching.
Our mission is to make the expressive possibilities of contemporary music accessible to every bassoonist, through education, performance, and commissioning new works for bassoon ensembles.
Founded in 2016 by members of Dark in the Song Contemporary Bassoon Collective, the NewBassoon Institute has been held at a variety of locations across the US, including the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, the National Music Festival in Chestertown, MD, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.
This year’s Institute will be held at Appalachian State University’s Hayes School of Music in the bucolic mountains of Boone, North Carolina.
Sharing our music with our host communities through alternative venues has always been an important part of the NewBassoon experience. We’ve performed and rehearsed in clubs, houses, bookshops—and yes, even auto shops!
Rachael Elliott is a bassoonist and passionate chamber musician specializing in contemporary music. She is a founding member of Clogs, Dark in the Song, EK Duo, Heliand, and Tuple Bassoon Duo. With Clogs, she has toured the USA, Canada, England, Europe and Australia, with performances at the Adelaide and Sydney Festivals; the Barbican Centre, London Jazz Festival and Brighton Festival in England; Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Knitting Factory and Joe’s Pub in NYC; and festivals including MusicNOW, Big Ears, and Halifax Jazz Festival.
Bassoonist Lynn Hileman is an internationally recognized performer and educator, specializing in contemporary and experimental music. She has performed globally at major festivals and venues across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia, and is a founding member of several bassoon collectives, including Tuple Bassoon Duo and Dark in the Song. Lynn is Principal Bassoon of the Binghamton Philharmonic and has played with numerous prestigious orchestras. Formerly Associate Professor at West Virginia University, she now teaches bassoon at the University of Calfornia-Davis and musicianship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is also the founder of Freedom on Stage, where she teaches classical musicians tap into flow states to perform their best with more ease and less stress.
California native Stephanie Patterson is the Associate Professor of Bassoon at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She formerly taught at the Schwob School of Music and was Principal Bassoon of the Columbus Symphony (GA), and Acting Principal Bassoon with the Atlanta Opera. She has commissioned many new works as a member of the Enid Trio and the Off Broadway Trio. She is the Education Coordinator for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Bassoon Symposium, and hosted the 2025 Symposium at UNCSA. Her performances often include staging, costumes, or other ways of connecting with audiences. She has performed around the world, including the Belfast Sonorities Festival, the Lucerne Academy, and Pro Musica in Juiz da Fora, Brazil. Her book, An Introduction to Contemporary Music for Bassoon and 64 Etudes is available through Trevco Varner Music.
David Wells enjoys forging new paths for the bassoon’s future and exploring the richness of the instrument’s past, whether he is exploring modern works featuring extended techniques or electronics, giving historically-informed performances on bassoons from the 17th-20th centuries with ensembles including the Carmel Bach Festival and American Bach Soloists, or taking the bassoon to unexpected places in a Django Reinhardt-inspired swing sextet. He teaches bassoon and music history at Appalachian State University, and serves as Executive Director of Meg Quigley, an organization devoted to making the bassoon world more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and supportive.
Michael Harley enjoys a varied career as a teacher, performer, and music advocate. He teaches bassoon and chamber music at the University of South Carolina, where he also serves as Artistic Director of the award-winning Southern Exposure New Music Series. Harley’s playing been called “spectacular” (Washington Post) and “exquisite” (Columbus Dispatch). As a founding member of the contemporary music chamber orchestra Alarm Will Sound, called “one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American musical scene” by the New York Times, Harley has worked with and premiered pieces by many of today’s most accomplished composers.
