Amy Harman
A passionate advocate for the bassoon, Amy Harman is much sought after as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and communicator.
Amy was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music from 2013 to 2024 and gives masterclasses and coaches internationally. She was appointed professor of bassoon at the Robert Schumann Hochshule Düsseldorf in 2024, the first woman to hold such a position in Germany.
Aged 23 Amy was appointed solo bassoon of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Sought after as guest principal with leading orchestras in Europe including Paavo Järvi’s EFO and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, she is currently principal of Aurora Orchestra. She was selected by YCAT in 2014.
Solo highlights include premiering Roxanna Panufnik’s concerto for bassoon & string orchestra with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Strauss’s Concertino with the English Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Concerto at the Festival Suoni dal Golfo in Lerici and appearing as a flying soloist at the world premiere of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht. Amy was the first bassoonist to perform a live broadcast solo recital for BBC radio 3. She performs recitals regularly in UK and Germany with her collaborator Tom Poster. She has taken part in festivals internationally including Pärnu, Spoleto USA, Aldeburgh, Tbilisi, West Cork, Ryedale, Bath Mozartfest and Mizmorim festivals and regularly attends IMS Prussia Cove.
Amy has had works written for her by Olav Berg, Heloïse Werner, Brian Elias, Roxanna Panufnik, Robin Holloway and Simon Holt.
Programme
22.7.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875—1912):
Nonet in F minor, Op. 2 (1894)
22.7.
Franz Berwald (1796—1868):
Quartet in E flat, Op. 1 for piano and winds (1819)
23.7.
Roxanna Panufnik (1968):
Cantator & Amanda for bassoon and string quartet (2011)
25.7.
Francis Poulenc (1899—1963):
Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano (1928 edited by Sandro Caldini)
25.7.
Mikhail Glinka (1804—1857):
Trio pathétique in D minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano (1832)
Orsino Ensemble
20.7.
Cecilia Damström (1988):
Wind Quintet 'Raakku' (2026, commissioned by Kuhmo Chamber Music, premiere)
20.7.
Jean Françaix (1912—1997):
L'Heure du Berger for wind quintet and piano (1947)
21.7.
Antonín Dvořák (1841—1904):
Serenade in D minor, Op. 44 (1878, arr. for wind quintet and strings by František Hertl)
22.7.
Antonín Reicha (1770—1836):
Lento. Allegro moderato from Wind Quintet in E flat, Op. 88 No. 2 (1818)
23.7.
Valerie Coleman (1970):
Danza from Concerto Afro-Cuban for wind quintet (2001)
23.7.
Mark Simpson (1988):
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows for wind quintet (2024)
23.7.