bassoonists of note

The following musicians have all played a pivotal role in my development as a musician and an individual. I would not be who or where I am without the profound influence each of these individuals had on my life.

Dr. CAyla bellamy

Cayla Bellamy currently serves as Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Northern Iowa, where she teaches courses in applied bassoon (undergraduate and graduate), chamber music, woodwind literature, and music education.  She completed the Doctor of Music degree in Bassoon Performance and Literature from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in the spring of 2015, where she studied with William Ludwig.  Cayla is also a core bassoonist and contrabassoonist with wcfsymphony and has performed across the United States, as well as maintained an active private studio.  In the summer of 2011, she attended the Aspen Music Festival and School for eight weeks of study with Nancy Goeres of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. 

Cayla also has substantial backgrounds in education and arts administration.  She spends her summers as Associate Conductor for the New York Summer School of the Arts School of Orchestral Studies and has maintained active involvement in the arts community, previously working with the Bloomington-based Cardinal Stage Company as marketing and sales assistant. A dedicated educator, Cayla also taught freshmen through the Indiana University Groups Program as a university associate instructor and coached undergraduate woodwind chamber ensembles.  She also recently served as the UGA graduate assistant to Summer Music Camps, String Project, and Orchestra Festivals.  Previously, Cayla has held positions as Director of the Intermediate Girls Division at Interlochen Arts Camp, Director of Bands at Snellville Middle School in Snellville, Georgia, and Associate Conductor of the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra.

She also holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Music Education and Bassoon Performance from the University of Georgia, where she was distinguished as a National Presser Scholar and invited to perform with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra on a benefit tour for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Cayla's professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, College Music Society, and the International Double Reed Society, and she has been honored with inductions into Phi Kappa Lambda and Kappa Kappa Psi.

Dr. Amy Pollard

Amy Pollard is associate professor of bassoon at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. She formerly served as lecturer of bassoon at Baylor University and has also been on faculty at the University of Dayton and the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts. During the summer she has been on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Center Advanced Bassoon Institute. She is currently second bassoonist with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Pollard has performed as a soloist with the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony as well as with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Players.  An avid chamber musician, she has performed at venues throughout the United States and also in Ireland, Belgium, and Argentina with such groups as the Georgia Woodwind Quintet, the Baylor University Woodwind Quintet, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Woodwind Quintet, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Players.  Her bassoon-percussion duo, Col Legno, has performed recitals and presented master classes at numerous venues throughout the country.

Pollard received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University.

Please see the bassoon studio website for more details about the UGA bassoon program.

Pollard co-hosts the UGA Bassoon Symposium and Oboe Workshop with oboe professor Reid Messich each Spring.

Dr. Tina carpenter

Tina Carpenter, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Florida State University, a Master of Music in performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music, and the Doctor of Music in bassoon performance from Florida State University.

Carpenter has served on the faculties of Emory University, Florida State University, and West Texas A&M University where she is currently a Professor of Music and teaches bassoon, freshman music theory, and music appreciation. In 2004 she was recognized with a university-wide Faculty Teaching Excellence Award at WTAMU.

Dr. Carpenter is a member of the International Double Reed Society, the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, and the Texas Music Educators Association.

Dr. Carpenter is principal bassoon in the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. She is active as a solo recitalist and clinician and has appeared at past meetings of the International Double Reed Society, the International Bass Society, and the Texas Music Educators Association. She has also been heard on NPR’s Performance Today and has recorded with the Atlanta and Amarillo symphonies.