George Sakakeeny
George Sakakeeny | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 8, 1956 Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 1978-present |
| Associated acts | New Japan Philharmonic, Oberlin Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Interlochen Arts Camp, Round Top Festival Institute, Aspen Music Festival and School |
George Sakakeeny (born January 8, 1956) is an American bassoonist and professor of bassoon at the Eastman School of Music. Sakakeeny is widely known as the steward of the Eastman School of bassoon playing, and for continuing the pedagogical legacy of his teacher K. David Van Hoesen.[1]
Life and Career
Sakakeeny was born in Chicago and moved to San Diego, California at the age of 12. He originally studied viola in grade school, and aspired to be a professional musician from an early age. He became interested in the sound of the english horn after attending a live chamber music concert, and ultimately made the switch to bassoon after finding an abandoned instrument in his school band room.[2] He went on to attend the Eastman School of Music from 1974 to 1978 where he studied bassoon with K. David Van Hoesen. He was classmates with many other prominent bassoonists of his generation, including Judith LeClair of the New York Philharmonic, Barrick Stees of the Cleveland Orchestra, Jonathan Sherwin of the Cleveland Orchestra, Toni Lipton of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Felicia Foland of the St. Louis Symphony, and Betsy Sturdevant of the Columbus Symphony.
Sakakeeny was appointed to his first playing job as principal bassoon of the Singapore Symphony while on tour with the Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1978. A year later in 1977, he was appointed principal bassoon of the New Japan Philharmonic by music director Seiji Ozawa. Sakakeeny served in this capacity until 1983, when he moved to Boston to join the Handel and Haydn Society. While in Boston, Sakakeeny was appointed principal bassoon of the Opera Company of Boston, and performed with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras.
In 1989, Sakakeeny was named professor of bassoon at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. At Oberlin, Sakakeeny built the bassoon studio into an internationally recognized program.[3] His students have gone on to win playing positions in the Minnesota Orchestra[4], the St. Louis Symphony[5], the National Symphony[6], the Kansas City Symphony[7], the Phoenix Symphony[8], and the New World Symphony. His students have also been widely successful in pioneering alternative ensembles such as the International Contemporary Ensemble[9], Ensemble Dal Niente[10], and the Imani Winds[11]. Sakakeeny left Oberlin in 2016 to accept appointment as Professor of Bassoon at the Eastman School of Music, where he has taught since.
Sakakeeny was bassoon faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School[12], and has played principal bassoon with the Grand Teton Music Festival, the New Hampshire Music Festival, the Eastern Music Festival, and the Peninsula Music Festival.[13] In 2025, Sakakeeny was named acting principal bassoon of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra by music director Robert Spano.[14]
An overview of Sakakeeny's bassoon method can be found in his iBook Making Reeds Start to Finish available on the Apple Book Store. He performs on Heckel bassoon #8683, the last verified Heckel bassoon finished before the company ceased operations during World War II.[15]
Selected Discography
Full Moon in the City (Oberlin Music Label, 2013)[16]
Schickele Bassoon Concerto (Oberlin Music Label, 2015)[17]
Blechinger Faggottkonzert (Harmonia Classica, 1997.)[18]
25th Anniversary International Double Reed Society (Crystal Records, 1997)[19]
References
- ↑ Sakakeeny, George (2025). "Biography". Sakakeeny Bassoon. N/A. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ↑ "Episode 31: George Sakakeeny". 2019https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/double-reed-dish/id1177590397?i=1000404372631
|transcript-url=missing title (help). 17 June 2019. Private. - ↑ "Sakakeeny Celebrates 25 Years of Bassoon Christmas".
- ↑ "Fei Xie - Minnesota Orchestra".
- ↑ "Andrew Cuneo".
- ↑ "Sean Gordon | Kennedy Center".
- ↑ "Maxwell Pipinich".
- ↑ "Christopher Witt".
- ↑ "Rebekah Heller".
- ↑ "Gallery 1".
- ↑ "Monica Ellis".
- ↑ "George Sakakeeny | Aspen Music Festival and School".
- ↑ "Sakakeeny, George".
- ↑ "Eastman Announces Bassoon Faculty News for 2025-2026". 2 April 2025.
- ↑ "Heckeldex".
- ↑ "Full Moon in the City".
- ↑ "Concerto for Bassoon CD".
- ↑ "The Faculty Artist Series Presents: George Sakakeeny, Bassoon". 24 January 2018.
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/25th-Anniversary-International-Double-Society/dp/B000003J7F
External links
- George Sakakeeny discography at Discogs
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