Kathryn Sleeper
Lives in FL, United States
Bassoonist Kathryn Sleeper has commissioned and premiered over 25 works for bassoon, from solo pieces to concerti with orchestra, including Larry Bell's The Sentimental Muse which she recorded in March 2003. Reviews of her recitals and recordings are enthusiastic about the music as well as the performances:
"Kathryn Sleeper's playing is every bit as exciting as the piece, and she manages to overcome the extreme level of difficulty of the work like a superhero."
Jeffrey Lyman. The Double Reed
"played with finesse and agreeably dark tone by the gifted Kathryn Sleeper. "
James Roos. Miami Herald
"Bassoonist Kathryn Sleeper particularly shows her moto-perpetuo agility in the witty and lithe-yet-promethean closer."
Elizabeth Agnew. Record Reviews
"Together the two pieces revealed the extent of the bassoon's (and the bassoonist's!) versatility-- By the end the audience and the orchestra alike had been completely charmed"
Wayne Dickson. Deland Reporter
"Kathryn Sleeper - Outstanding player!"
Juan Argentino Petracchini. El Neuvo Diario (Argentina)
While attending SMU in Dallas, she first became involved in performing and recording new music when she joined the ensemble "Perspectives," founded by conductor-composer Thomas Sleeper. There also, she studied composition with Donald Erb, Marvin Lamb, and Jack Waldenmaier. During her senior year, she invented a simplified and accurate notation for multiphonics and extended techniques on the bassoon which has been used by many composers. Since graduation, she has performed and recorded contemporary music at concert venues in the US, China, Argentina, Bulgaria, and The Czech Republic. She appears as a soloist on two commercial CDs--Music From Six Continents 1996 (VMM 3037) and The Sentimental Muse (N/SR 1031.) Kathryn is the recipient of several awards, including an American Cultural Specialist grant from the US Information Agency for performances in Beijing and Shanghai.
Kathryn's principal bassoon teachers were Betty Johnson, Janet Friedlander, and Luciano Magnanini. She was Professor Magnanini's teaching assistant at the University of Miami where she earned her Master of Music degree. She is the former principal bassoonist of The Richardson Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Space Coast Philharmonic, The Miami Symphony Orchestra, The Atlantic Classical Orchestra and The Palm Beach Pops Orchestra. Since her recent return from a year of training in Italy, she is currently a Montessori elementary teacher and occasionally plays bassoon and contrabassoon with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.
EDUCATION: Master of Music, May 1996; University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.
Bachelor of Music, May 1982; Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
AMI Diploma, Montessori Elementary, June 2007: Fondazione Centro Internazionale Studi Montessoriani, Bergamo, Italy.
PRINCIPAL BASSOON INSTRUCTORS: Luciano Magnanini, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra; Janet Friedlander, Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Walter Green, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; Betty Johnson, Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra.
MASTER CLASSES (Bassoon): Bernard Garfield, John Miller, David Carroll, Alan Goodman, Sidney Rosenberg.
PRINCIPAL COMPOSITION INSTRUCTORS: Donald Erb, Marvin Lamb, Jack Waldenmaier.
MASTER CLASSES (Composition): Leslie Bassett, Joan Tower.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS:
Principal Bassoon, Atlantic Classical Orchestra; '06
Principal Bassoon, Palm Beach Pops Orchestra; 94-06
Principal Bassoon, Miami Symphony Orchestra; 95-97;
Adjunct Professor of Bassoon, Stetson University; 91-93;
Co-Director, Stetson Double Reed Workshop; 91-93;
Principal Bassoon, FL Space Coast Philharmonic; 86-93;
Music Admissions Director, Stetson University; 85-91;
Principal Bassoon, Richardson Symphony Orch.; 82-85;
Bassoon Instructor, Garland and Duncanville ISD;?82-85;
Principal Bassoon, Dallas Civic Symphony; 78-82;
OTHER EXPERIENCE:
Soloist (recording) with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic) '03
International Double Reed Society solo performer, '93, '98, '00;
Bassoon Instructor, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, '98;
Soloist with the UM Symphony Orchestra, '98;
Soloist and Principal Bassoon, Key West Festival '97 & '98;
Guest Artist/Soloist, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute,'97;
Soloist (concert and recording) with the Rousse
Philharmonic (Bulgaria), '96;
Soloist with San Juan Symphony (Argentina), '96;
Soloist with Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China; '93;
American Cultural Specialist with the US Information Agency, China, '93.
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