Bassoon Day 2025
Join us for the 22nd annual Bassoon Day at on Saturday, February 15, 2025! We look forward to seeing you for classes with our special guests Ann Shoemaker, and Gabrièle Dostie-Poirier, exhibits, and our Bassoon Extravaganza concert!
Schedule:
- 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Elizabeth Wirth Music Building Lobby | Exhibits: Come try out bassoons and bocals by Canadian bassoon maker Benson Bell
- 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Tanna Schulich Hall | Masterclass with Gabrièle Dostie-Poirier, bassoonist with the Orchestre Métropolitain
- 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.,Tanna Schulich Hall | Masterclass with Ann Shoemaker, bassoon professor at Baylor University, Texas
- 5:00 p.m., Tanna Schulich Hall | A Bassoon Extravaganza #22! Join us for a bassoon concert featuring our special guest Ann Shoemaker 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:
ANN SHOEMAKER
Ann Shoemaker, bassoonist, is highly regarded as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and music educator. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Bassoon and Instrumental Studies Division Director at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Her students have found continued success in professional orchestras, military bands, as freelance musicians, educators, and music administrators. Shoemaker serves as principal bassoonist with Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Waco Symphony Orchestra. Declared “highly expressive, with a rich sound” and “technical prowess” by the American Record Guide, Shoemaker frequently performs guest solo recitals across the country and internationally. She is proud to be a Co-Executive Director of the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Symposium, which advocates for the careers of young women bassoonists and strives to contribute to a diverse and supportive community of bassoonists. Dr. Shoemaker completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, her Bachelor of Music degree from Furman University and her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Nyfenger Award for Outstanding Woodwind Performance. She is a Fox Bassoon performing artist. Her CD, New Standards: Music for Bassoon and Piano, is available through the MSR Classics label.
GABRIÈLE DOSTIE-POIRIER
Bassoonist Gabrièle Dostie-Poirier has been a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain since January 2015. Regularly engaged as a freelancer by Quebec's leading orchestras, she is also principal bassoon with the Orchestre de l'Agora. Passionate about chamber music, she frequently performs in recitals and takes part in various educational projects. She can be heard on many recordings of the National Film Board and on Télé-Québec's Génial! program. A graduate of the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, in bassoon and chamber music, she studied with Mathieu Harel and Stéphane Lévesque. Previously, she studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Gatineau with Jo Ann Simpson. Gabrièle has been a bassoon teacher at the Conservatoire de Montréal's preparatory program since August 2024. She taught at the Collège Notre-Dame de Montréal and at Collège Esther-Blondin. Gabrièle participated in numerous advanced training courses, including at Le Festival Pablo Casals de Prades in France, Le Domaine Forget, l'Académie du Centre d'arts d'Orford, Brooke Valley Bassoon Days, l'Orchestre du réseau des Conservatoires and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. She also studied violin from 1996 to 2010. In addition to her career as a musician, she is deeply committed to her role as Chair of the Orchestre Métropolitain's Musicians' Committee.