Dennis
Michel is second bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a member of
the Chicago Chamber Musicians. He serves as head of woodwinds at the Chicago
College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Since 1988, he has spent
his summers teaching and performing at the Music Academy of the West in Santa
Barbara, California. He previously held the position of principal bassoonist of
the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera, and he was a founding member of the
Arioso Wind Quintet.
He holds
degrees from Eastern Washington University and Yale University. His principal
teachers include Wendal Jones and Arthur Weisberg. In 1996, Michel was the
recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship for advanced study at the Hochschule für Musik
in Vienna, where he studied with Milan Turkovic. During that time, he also
performed with the Vienna State Opera.
An active
chamber musician, he has performed with the Da Camera Society of Houston, on
the chamber series at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and at numerous
summer festivals including Tanglewood, the Bard Festival in New York,
Flagstaff Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, San Luis Obispo Mozart
Festival and Summerfest La Jolla, where he was a featured artist for 10 seasons.
He lives in
Oak Park with his wife Peggy, an active freelance oboist and teacher, and
together they enjoy cooking, traveling and spending as much time as possible
with family and friends.
September
2012
