McGill Bassoon Day 2023
Join us for the 20th annual Bassoon Day at McGill on Saturday, February 11, 2023 - our first one in person since 2020! We look forward to seeing you for classes with our special guests Carin Miller and Mary Chalk, exhibits, and our Bassoon Extravaganza concert!
Schedule:
- 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, C-310 | Exhibits: Come try out bassoons and bocals by Canadian bassoon maker Benson Bell
- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm, C-304 | Masterclass with Mary Chalk, principal bassoon, Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, appears regularly with the OSM, OSQ and Les Violons du Roy, among others.
- 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, C-304 | Masterclass with Carin Miller, principal bassoon of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and adjunct professor at Portland State University and Pacific University, and founder of the international virtual bassoon symposium Bassoons Without Borders.
- 5:00 pm, Pollack Hall | A Bassoon Extravaganza #20! Join us for a bassoon concert featuring our special guests Carin Miller and Mary Chalk, as well as members of the OSM bassoon section, and don't forget to bring your bassoon for the Bassoon Day Ensemble Finale!
Guest bios:
Carin Miller
Carin Miller is principal bassoon with the Oregon Symphony, and she previously held principal bassoon positions with the Jacksonville and Shreveport Symphonies. Ms. Miller performs regularly as guest principal bassoon with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theater. She recently toured as guest principal bassoon with the Galilee Chamber Orchestra performing in Tel Aviv, Toronto, and New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Ms. Miller enjoys collaborating in Seattle with the Seattle Chamber Music Society and Orca Concert series, as well as locally with Chamber Music Northwest, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Classical up Close, and 45th Parallel Universe. She is also the founder of the international virtual bassoon symposium Bassoons Without Border.
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Under the umbrella of the Oregon Symphony Sounds of Home series, she recently curated and performed in a chamber music program with commissions from local composers and in conjunction with the Audubon Society of Portland to raise awareness of the impact of climate change. Ms. Miller has had the immense pleasure of performing duets with jazz sensation Wycliffe Gordon as part of her residency coaching with the National Youth Orchestra of Carnegie Hall.
A native of Queens, NY, Ms. Miller holds a BM from the Juilliard School, an MM from Rice University, and an Advanced Certificate from the University of Southern California. Her teachers include Whitney Crockett, Frank Morelli, Stephen Maxym, and Benjamin Kamins. As an educator, she has presented masterclasses for the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, and coaches for the Portland Youth Philharmonic and Wallowa Lake Woodwind Camp. Ms. Miller had the great privilege of serving for a year as visiting Adjunct Associate Professor of Bassoon at Indiana University in 2021-2022, and has served on the board of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Ms. Miller is currently Adjunct Professor at Portland State University, Pacific University, Lewis and Clark College, and Reed College, as well as curating a private teaching studio from her home in Portland, OreMary ChalkOriginally from Montreal, bassoonist Mary Chalk is very active on the Quebec music scene. Winner of the 2018 Prix d'Europe (Béatrice-Kennedy-Bourbeau award, winds category), she currently holds principal positions with the Drummondville and Trois-Rivières symphony orchestras, as well as with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal from 2019 to 2022. In addition, she regularly appears with many of Quebec's leading ensembles, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Les Violons du Roy.
Mary Chalk
Originally from Montreal, bassoonist Mary Chalk is very active on the Quebec music scene. Winner of the 2018 Prix d'Europe (Béatrice-Kennedy-Bourbeau award, winds category), she currently holds principal positions with the Drummondville and Trois-Rivières symphony orchestras, as well as with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal from 2019 to 2022. In addition, she regularly appears with many of Quebec's leading ensembles, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Les Violons du Roy.
Mary has shown a strong interest in early music and began learning the baroque and classical bassoons in 2015. Since then, she has been invited to play with several ensembles specializing in historical performance including Ensemble Caprices, Harmonie des Saisons, and Arion Orchestre Baroque. She has also participated in the Montreal Bach Festival (2018, 2021) and the Festival International de Musique Baroque de Lamèque (2019). Mary holds two degrees from the Schulich School of Music at McGill, where she studied with Martin Mangrum and Stéphane Lévesque. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Frank Morelli.
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Originally from Montreal, bassoonist Mary Chalk is very active on the Quebec music scene. Winner of the 2018 Prix d'Europe (Béatrice-Kennedy-Bourbeau award, winds category), she currently holds principal positions with the Drummondville and Trois-Rivières symphony orchestras, as well as with the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal from 2019 to 2022. In addition, she regularly appears with many of Quebec's leading ensembles, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Les Violons du Roy.
Mary has shown a strong interest in early music and began learning the baroque and classical bassoons in 2015. Since then, she has been invited to play with several ensembles specializing in historical performance including Ensemble Caprices, Harmonie des Saisons, and Arion Orchestre Baroque. She has also participated in the Montreal Bach Festival (2018, 2021) and the Festival International de Musique Baroque de Lamèque (2019). Mary holds two degrees from the Schulich School of Music at McGill, where she studied with Martin Mangrum and Stéphane Lévesque. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Frank Morelli.
