The LuftBassoons is a Tucson based band of bassoons on a mission to bring the magic of the bassoon everywhere and anywhere. Classical, pop, contemporary.. no music is left unexplored by this band of four individuals sharing one common goal of playing great music, of all genres on the best instrument ever made:
The Bassoon.
LuftBassoons first met for reading sessions of various combinations in 2012: trios, duets, and finally quartets drawing from the large pool of bassoonists that have made Tucson their home. These sessions slowly grew into other collaborative projects and eventually coalesced into a residency with the BC Dance Company from 2014 to the present. LBQ made their international debut in January 2016 at the Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado (FAOT) in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico,
along with their friend and mentor, Robert Williams!
That same year they also premiered La República del Agua, composed specifically for them by Mexican bassoonist Juan Carlos Villaseñor which they were invited to perform in Sonora, Mexico, at the inaugural Festival Arenál for Contemporary Music in Hermosillo. In February of 2019 the LuftBassoons, comprised of Juan José Arévalo, Cassandra Bendickson, Brenda Willer Buys, and Daniel Hursey were featured guest artists for Bassoon Week at the Texas A & M University in Corpus Christi in February of 2019, including the coaching of small ensembles, performance, and panel discussions.
The LuftBassoons have since won a generous grant from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona to fund New Local Works for Bassoon Quartet! This grant spurred the composition of six brand new works by Tucson composers which the LBQ members will showcase at this year at the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Symposium and the International Double Reed Society convention.
The Bassoon.
LuftBassoons first met for reading sessions of various combinations in 2012: trios, duets, and finally quartets drawing from the large pool of bassoonists that have made Tucson their home. These sessions slowly grew into other collaborative projects and eventually coalesced into a residency with the BC Dance Company from 2014 to the present. LBQ made their international debut in January 2016 at the Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado (FAOT) in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico,
along with their friend and mentor, Robert Williams!
That same year they also premiered La República del Agua, composed specifically for them by Mexican bassoonist Juan Carlos Villaseñor which they were invited to perform in Sonora, Mexico, at the inaugural Festival Arenál for Contemporary Music in Hermosillo. In February of 2019 the LuftBassoons, comprised of Juan José Arévalo, Cassandra Bendickson, Brenda Willer Buys, and Daniel Hursey were featured guest artists for Bassoon Week at the Texas A & M University in Corpus Christi in February of 2019, including the coaching of small ensembles, performance, and panel discussions.
The LuftBassoons have since won a generous grant from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona to fund New Local Works for Bassoon Quartet! This grant spurred the composition of six brand new works by Tucson composers which the LBQ members will showcase at this year at the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Symposium and the International Double Reed Society convention.