"Orchestralbassoon.com is a godsend to bassoon instructors everywhere (like myself) who teach high school bassoonists. So often high school bassoonists play primarily in band and not in orchestra--this tool allows me to introduce more bassoon students to exactly the most important bassoon moments they should be aware of. Everything about the site is top-notch; this is also a great site for composers as well. Now my students know that playing high school band bassoon is not the ultimate goal!"

Paul Hanson
Jazz & Electronic Bassoon Recording Artist
Private Lesson Faculty, California Jazz Conservatory

"As a teacher and performer I find myself consistently utilizing and recommending The Orchestral Bassoon website as a go-to reference tool. I find the access it provides to accurate parts, scores, recordings, and pedagogy invaluable to myself and my students. Thanks Dr. Van Gansbeke for all your hard work, dedication, and generosity!"

Shawn Mouser
Associate Principal Bassoon, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Adjunct Instructor, University of Southern California
 

"In creating this invaluable resource, Dr. Van Gansbeke has not only compiled an enormous amount of useful information, but has provided an exemplary demonstration of what it means to truly study and understand the context of orchestral excerpts."

William Short
Principal Bassoon, The Metropolitan Opera
Faculty, The Julliard School; Manhattan School of Music; Temple University
 

"I am very grateful to Brett Van Gansbeke for creating The Orchestral Bassoon - an invaluable resource for professional and aspiring bassoonists. The presentation of a broad spectrum of standard excerpts in the form of parts, scores, multiple esteemed recordings, analysis and pedagogy elevates this resource to the status of an indispensable tool, given its comprehensive yet succinct qualities. The discussions on fundamentals beautifully aggregate viewpoints and quotes from leaders in the field into one meaningful, quick reference on each topic. Thank you for collecting and focusing this vast amount of material which just a decade ago was equally essential to the study of orchestral music, but required a wild goose chase to obtain!"

Kristin Wolfe Jensen
Professor of Bassoon, University of Texas at Austin

About the Author

Dr. Brett Van Gansbeke is a freelance musician and maintains a full private lesson studio in the greater Houston area. His students have been selected 1st chair at Texas 6A All-State, 6A Area, 5A Area, and 6A Region auditions, and many have also participated in the Houston Youth Symphony, Houston Virtuosi, National Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra 2, and various other summer music programs such as Interlochen and Tanglewood.

As an orchestral musician, Dr. Van Gansbeke previously served as contrabassoonist with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Louisville Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Symphony of Southeast Texas, Bloomington Camerata Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and Lexington Philharmonic.

Dr. Van Gansbeke holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with minors in Music Theory and Early Music, and during his time at IU studied modern bassoon with William Ludwig and Arthur Weisberg, baroque bassoon with Michael McCraw, and chamber music with James Campbell. He also holds a Master of Music degree from Florida State University, where he was a teaching assistant for the bassoon studio, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Kentucky. His other primary bassoon teachers include Jeff Keesecker, Peter Simpson, and Roger Soren.