Susan L. Nigro (born 1951) is an American

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

ist. Unlike most players of the instrument, Nigro's career is primarily as a solo recitalist and recording artist rather than an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l player.

Life

Nigro is a native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She is an alumna of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

. Her instructors included Burl Lane and

Wilbur Simpson Wilbur H. Simpson (December 6, 1917 in Angola, Indiana – June 17, 1997 in Platte Lake, Michigan) was an American classical bassoonist and pedagogue. At Northwestern University, he studied with Hugo Fox, principal bassoonist of the Chicago ...

. She is a member of several high-IQ societies, including Mensa and

Intertel Intertel (previously the International Legion of Intelligence) is a high-IQ society founded in 1966, that is open to those who have scored at or above the 99th percentile (top 1%) on one of various standardized tests of intelligence. It has been ...

Career

Her repertoire includes the

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

and

Daniel Dorff Daniel Dorff (born March 7, 1956) is an American classical composer. Biography and career Dorff was born in New Rochelle, New York, and grew up in Roslyn, New York, graduating from Roslyn High School.A Compact Disc Recording of Three Works fo ...

concertos for contrabassoon, as well as the

Stamitz Stamitz ( cs, Stamic) was the surname of a family of German Bohemian musicians, the principal members of which were: *Johann Stamitz (1717–1757), Czech-German composer, founder of the Mannheim school *Carl Stamitz (1745–1801) German composer, s ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

concertos originally written for the bassoon. Nigro has premiered over 30 works since 1988, most of which were commissioned by her. She has given more premieres than any other contra bassoonist. She has appeared as a soloist with such groups as the

Chicago Chamber Orchestra (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Rome Festival Orchestra, and the

Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg is an Austrian orchestra, based in the town and state of Salzburg. The orchestra gives concerts in several Salzburg venues, including the ''Großes Festspielhaus'', the Great Hall of the Stiftung Mozarteum. I ...

, as well as at multiple

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, an ...

conferences. She has also performed as a recitalist and given

masterclass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was conceiv ...

es at dozens of universities and music festivals. In addition to her recording and recital careers, Nigro was the full-time substitute for the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

during the 2005–2006 season and again during the 2008-2010 season. She was also a guest artist with the Northwest Symphony. She was among the founders of the Chicago Bassoon Quartet and the contrabassoon duo The Two Contras. She won a Pro Music International Career Development Grant, and Illinois Arts Council grant.

Recordings

*''The Big Bassoon'' *''Little Tunes for the Big Bassoon'' *''The 2 Contras'', with Burl Lane *''The Bass Nightingale'', GM 2069 *''New Tunes for the Big Bassoon'' *''Bellissima: Italian Tunes for the Big Bassoon'' *''Original Tunes for the Big Bassoon'' *''Scott Joplin Rags for the Big Bassoon''https://www.crystalrecords.com/susannigro.html

References

External links

Susan Nigro's website
by Bruce Duffie Living people 1951 births Musicians from Chicago American classical bassoonists {{US-woodwind-musician-stub Mensans