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. 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. 

 

This summer Mania attended the IDRS Annual Conference with her friend and colleague Jennifer Bouck to perform Re:Pair for clarinet and bassoon by Alex Shapiro. While in attendance she also joined in many baroque activities. In addition, Mania with be traveling to France to perform at The Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christe and will be performing works by Mozart and Beethoven on period instruments.

 

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.