Bassoonist Ashley Mania is establishing a diverse career in both modern and early music performance. Combining two drastically different styles of music performance, she is keen on being able to bridge them. 

 

A life-long learner of everything bassoon and double reeds, Mania has enjoyed broadening her knowledge by attending conferences like the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society (IDRS). In the 2024 IDRS conference, Mania performed in a bassoon ensemble that premiered works by Kincaid Rabb and Kevin Day. She also performed with her friend and colleague Jennifer Bouck at the 2026 IDRS conference. Mania has also enjoyed being a performer and broadening her knowledge of new music for the bassoon by attending the Newbassoon Institute. Along with that, Mania is an advocate for new works involving the bassoon and has been part of multiple commissions. One notable commission is the bassoon trio “From the Flower” by composer Emily Joy Sullivan, which was premiered at the 2023 Meg Quigley Bassoon Symposium. In recent years, Mania has also been bassoonist with the Perrysburg Symphony in Ohio, performing on bassoon and contrabassoon.

 

Mania holds postgraduate degrees from Bowling Green State University where she spent time learning more about extended techniques on the bassoon as well as focused on early instruments and performed regularly on recorder. At the Eighth International Conference on Music and Minimalism, she played the crumhorn, shawm, and rackett as part of the American premiere of Belgium composer Karel Goeyvaert’s piece Pour que les fruits mûrissent cet été. This focus on early instruments brought her to New York City where she is beginning her journey as a historical performance graduate student at The Juilliard School. There, she takes lessons with Dominic Teresi, learning about baroque bassoon and other early bassoon family instruments. 

 

2026 hold many international performances for Mania. Tafelmusik will be presenting Rameau & The Art of Dance which Mania will be participating in. During March of 2026, she will be traveling to Germany to perform with the JSB Ensmeble at the Internationales Bachfest Stuttgart. Italy will be Mania’s performance ground for May. She will be on tour with Juillard415 performing Joseph Haydn’s The Creation. 

 

Her primary teachers are Dominic Teresi, Susan Nelson, and Nora Schankin. 

 

When not involved in music, Mania enjoys arts and crafts along with spending time with her crabby brown tabby Sage.