Susan Hess, Bassoon

Susan Hess performs actively in the Inland Northwest with groups such as the Northwest Wind Quintet, Walla Walla Symphony, Intermontane Bassoon Trio and Con Brio Winds.

She has been a member of many musical organizations, including the Colorado Music Festival, Boulder Bach Festival, Colorado Mahler Fest, Ernest Bloch Music Festival, and Colorado Wind Quintet (faculty ensemble at University of Colorado).

As a free-lancer, Susan has performed with the Spokane Symphony, Northwest Bach Festival, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, and with various other groups in the East Coast and Rocky Mountain regions.

She earned her doctorate and bachelor's degrees from the University of Colorado and her master's degree from Florida State University.

Her principal teachers have been William Winstead, Robert Olson, John Wetherill and Ryohei Nakagawa.

She currently is the Assistant Director and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton School of Music.

In addition to modern bassoon, Susan also performs on the Baroque bassoon (Mathew Dart's copy of a Denner ca. 1740).