Projects
Dark in the Song
Called a "bassoon supergroup" by the American Music Center, Dark in the Song was formed in 2010 by five of the most dynamic and accomplished bassoon players and teachers in the U. S.: Rachael Elliott, Mike Harley, Lynn Hileman, Peter Kolkay, and Saxton Rose. We are committed to leading the development of an adventurous and diverse new body of repertoire for bassoon ensembles. Through commissioning, performing, recording arranging, educating audiences, and teaching a new generation of open-minded players, we seek to bring the bassoon and bassoon ensembles to the forefront of 21st century music making.
In 2016, Dark in the Song founded the NewBassoon Institute, a week-long summer workshop on contemporary bassoon literature, performance techniques, and pedagogy. Designed for college students and beyond, activities include collaborative faculty and participant performances, master classes, experiential workshops, private lessons, and recording opportunities. In 2023, the NewBassoon institute moved to the University of Michigan School of Music, where we were joined by new Institute director and U of M bassoon professor Jeffrey Lyman.
Tuple
Praised for their “admirable technique and musicality” and “surprising tonal, timbral and emotional range,” Tuple Bassoon Duo takes audiences on a journey through fifty years of music for two bassoons with a repertoire spanning a melodic, timbral and stylistic range of surprising breadth.
Founded in 2006, Tuple has appeared at experimental art and music venues including The Stone (NYC), Eyedrum (Atlanta), Flood Fine Arts Center (Asheville), A|V (Rochester, NY), and have presented performances and masterclasses at Yale University, the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Vermont, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Their debut album Darker Things was released by Bright Shiny Things in August 2019.
Rushes Ensemble
Since its formation in 2012, the Rushes Ensemble has established itself as the premier interpreter of Michael Gordon’s Rushes for seven bassoons. The ensemble is made up of some of the United States’ leading performers of contemporary bassoon music: Dana Jessen, Rachael Elliott, Michael Harley, Lynn Hileman, Jeffrey Lyman, Saxton Rose, and Maya Stone.
Rushes, which was commissioned in 2011 by the New Music Bassoon Fund, is a 55 minute tour-de-force that takes the listener on a meditative journey through rich, undulating harmonies captured by the velvety sound of seven bassoons. Composer Michael Gordon shifts polyrhythmic material not only through timbre and dynamics, but by weaving melodic lines into the kaleidoscopic waves of rhythmic texture.
The Rushes Ensemble gave the world premiere performance of Rushes in September 2012 at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York, and has since performed at some of the leading contemporary music festivals in Europe, including the November Music and GLOW Festivals in the Netherlands, and the Surround Festival in Brugge, Belgium.
The ensemble’s recording of the work was released in 2014 by Cantaloupe Records.