“It’s refreshing to hear the bassoon edging its way towards the sonic foreground in contemporary music. Anyone with doubts about how cool the instrument can be has perhaps not yet heard bassoonist and core member of ICE Rebekah Heller perform; in her hands, the oft-underappreciated woodwind is transformed into a fierce creature that cannot be ignored onstage.”
Rebekah Heller, Bassoonist
Called "an impressive solo bassoonist" by The New Yorker, Heller made her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic in September 2018, and has been a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, the Nagoya Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony. She has been a featured solo artist at the TIME:SPANS Festival, on Miller Theater’s Portrait Concert Series, at the experimental music hub, The Stone, and as a solo artist at the Born Creative Festival in Tokyo. Next up: Long Play Festival in NYC on May 4.
As a solo artist, Heller is known for creating immersive environments — using custom lights, commissioned clothing, and playing from memory — to facilitate electric connections with her audiences.
A curious and unceasing advocate for the bassoon as a solo instrument, Heller has worked side-by-side with composers — Steve Reich, Ash Fure, Felipe Lara, George Lewis (and hundreds of others!) over the last decade to forge an exciting new repertoire of works for solo bassoon, bassoon with electronics, and chamber music featuring the bassoon. Many of these compositions can be found on her solo albums: 100 names, which was called "pensive and potent" by The New York Times, and METAFAGOTE, which ArtMusicLounge insists is “here to explode…any preconceived notions you may have had about bassoon music.”
As bassoonist (since 2008) and former Co-Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Heller has been a passionate advocate for a more diverse and exciting musical landscape, spearheading landmark ICE commissioning programs and Co-Directing Ensemble Evolution at The New School.
Photo by Tarishi Gupta