Meet the Musician Monday - Stephanie Buggie

Here's our principal bassoonist Stephanie on a new Meet-the-Musician-Monday post! You can hear Stephanie play the famous bassoon solo in Scheherazade in our upcoming concert on June 9th! Tickets are available on our website!

Here’s me on my balcony, at home in Hamden. I love listening to the birds sing in the woodlands behind my condominium!! I started playing bassoon again around the year 2013, after a 17-year break. Applied Music was my college major, and after 2 degrees and many years of devoted and consistent practicing, I realized that pursuing a full-time orchestral career was not the practical solution for my life. Soon after quitting, I returned to school to become a certified Music teacher, and I obtained my teaching certification in 2000. After 12 years of teaching General Music, I started teaching English as a Second Language in 2012 and considered playing bassoon again, for recreation, because everyone needs a hobby, and I already knew most of the repertoire.

It’s been very rewarding: creating and sharing music with very nice people, and I’m glad that I made the decision to play again, because it differentiates me from the masses, and I enjoy it, even if it means spending many hours before any rehearsal creating and playing-in the reeds!! (the vibrating mouthpiece made of cane)

The bassoon in the picture is the third one that I have purchased, since I started practicing regularly again, because I wasn’t sure in 2013 if I would stick with it, and I originally purchased a cheap and very lame functioning instrument. My current bassoon is a 1970’s built Kroner, and I am its first owner. I love the feel of this instrument, and I recently purchased a gold-plated Mooseman bocal that makes my upper register very responsive and easy to play, intended for projecting high solos over all the string sections!!