Waterhouse Bassoon Day 2025

February 7th, 2025

Waterhouse Bassoon Day 2025 - Saturday 26 April 2025

With an outstanding selection of internationally-renowned speakers, including those flying in from from the USA and the Netherlands especially for this event, this will be the most exciting and informative day of the year for anyone with an interest in bassoons. With only a few places left don’t miss this amazing opportunity.

Register: email Oliver Ludlow at enquiries@doublereed.co.uk

Location: The collection is housed in Gloucestershire, UK (the address and directions will be sent to attendees in due course)

Agenda:

09.30: Registration, tea and coffee

10.00: Introduction

10.10: Graham Waterhouse talk

Talk: “William Waterhouse - maverick collector of keyboard instruments, sheet-music, books, artefacts - an assessment of the non-bassoon legacy”

Graham Waterhouse, PhD, composer and cellist, is the son of the late William Waterhouse. He received his musical education at Cambridge University and at Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and Hochschule für Musik Köln, and has a PhD in composition.

10.50: Roger Birnstingl talk “A reflection on William Waterhouse’s interests outside of music”

11.00: Coffee break & time to look at instruments

11.40: Bassoon Trio with Nikolaj Henriques

11.50: Wouter Verschuren talk

Talk: “Per Bassone Senza Basso: the Art of Borrowing”

Historical bassoonist Wouter Verschuren, PhD, specialises in the performance and research of 16th and 17th century music, through to the romantic era. He is principal bassoonist of The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and is co-founder of Concerto delaBorde and The Caecilia-Concert. Besides holds positions at the Royal College of Music in London and The Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He is also an active researcher, with the aim of rediscovering forgotten repertoire for dulcian and (historical) bassoon.

12:30 – 13.30: Lunch break - please bring a packed lunch

13.30: Nikolaj Henriques talk

Talk: “A Musical Journey Across Borders”

Nikolaj Henriques is a renowned and outstanding bassoonist, with a particularly forward looking approach to playing the bassoon and interpretation of the music. He is Bassoon Tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Section Leader Bassoon for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Nikolaj gives masterclasses across the country, and regularly travels to play with international orchestras. He will be talking about his experiences as a touring professional bassoon player and as a bassoon teacher, and how a changing world might affect bassoon playing and teaching in the future.

14.10: Will Peebles talk

Talk: “A Photographic Survey of Bassoon Design and Construction”

Will Peebles, PhD, gained his Doctor of Music at Michigan State University and is a Professor of Bassoon at Western Carolina University, and contrabassoonist for the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. His doctoral dissertation on the development of bassoon fingerings led him to develop a personal collection of historical bassoons. Will's collection is one of the largest collections of historical bassoons in the world, and he has dedicated much of his life to discovering the twists and turns of bassoon development through the ages.

14.50: Coffee break & time to look at instruments

15.20: Jim Kopp conduct group play through

16.00: End

Here is our write up of last year's event, to give you an idea of what to expect from the upcoming day.

Let us know via email to enquiries@doublereed.co.uk if you would like to attend the 2025 event.

Places will be confirmed by Oliver Ludlow.