He is a bassoonist born in East Wenatchee, Washington, who studied for his degrees at Eastern Washington University and Yale University. He took further studies in Austria at Vienna’s Hochshcule fur Musik after being awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1996.
He performed with the Vienna State Opera and after returning to the USA he took the position of Principal Bassoon with the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera, remaining there for 16 years. He went on to be appointed Second Bassoonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1998.
As a chamber musician he is a founding member of the Arioso Wind Quintet and is a member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians. He has also performed with the Da Camera Society of Houston, in the chamber series at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and was a featured artist at Summerfest La Jolla for 10 seasons. Other music festivals he has participated in include the Bard in New York, Flagstaff, Grand Teton and San Luis Obispo Mozart festivals.
Recordings he has performed on include the soundtrack of the film Lincoln by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 2018 Summer Festival by Music Academy of the West and the soundtrack of the film Mars Attacks!
In the field of musical education he has taught and performed during the summer at the Music Academy of the West since 1988 and is on the faculty of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts as teacher of bassoon and head of woodwind chamber music.
His wife, Peggy, is a teacher and freelance oboist.
He performs here…
Sources:
- https://cso.org/about/performers/cso-musicians/woodwinds/bassoon/dennis-michel/
- https://www.roosevelt.edu/academics/faculty/profile/dmichel
- https://csosoundsandstories.org/dennis-michel-bassoon/
- https://www.musicacademy.org/profile/dennis-michel/
- https://www.idrs.org/forums/topic/interesting-show-jcbach-bsnconcbflat-dennis-michel-dec-10-near-chicago/
- https://cies.org/grantee/dennis-michel
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/7416453-Dennis-Michel?type=Credits&filter_anv=0