Jeff Keesecker

Professor of Bassoon Jeff Keesecker is Principal Bassoonist with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, holds the Paul W. and Phyllis G. Runge Principal Bassoon Chair with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and is the Bassoon Mentor of the National Music Festival (Maryland). He has been a member of the Florida Orchestra (Tampa), the Sarasota Orchestra, the St. Gallen Sinfonie (Switzerland), the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival (Asheville), and Solisti New York. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician across North America, and in Europe, South America, and Asia, and is a frequent performer at the annual conferences of the International Double Reed Society. He has taught masterclasses and workshops on three continents and has been on the faculties of the Interlochen Arts Camp, Utah Music Festival, and Animas Music Festival (Durango). Keesecker gave the World Premiere of Eric Ewazen’s Concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble in 2003, and in 2006 released a solo CD entitled Bassoon Music of the Americas.

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Keesecker first studied bassoon with Trevor Cramer. He received the Bachelor of Music from FSU, studying with William Winstead, and the Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Steven Maxym. His training included participation in the Aspen Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.