Spotlight: The Bassoons

It might surprise you to learn the bassoon was not Principal Bassoonist Frank Watson’s first love. Originally from New Jersey, Frank’s youth was spent just steps away from the first fairway of Mount Tabor Country Club. Frank came by his passion for golf honestly, as both parents were avid golfers his father having been a fine amateur golfer in the days of wooden-shafted clubs and his brother John working on the golf course through his High School years. Frank was a fixture at the Club every day that school was not in session, either working in the Pro Shop or playing golf from sunup ‘til sundown.

Frank’s High School Golf Team set a (then) national record of 144 straight victories in interscholastic competition, winning several State HS Golf Championships. Parsippany High School, fortuitously, also boasted an exceptionally fine Band program. After making All-State Bands every year, Frank entered Furman University intent on becoming a PGA Professional Golfer. Here Frank also continued his growing love of music and as a Sophomore discovered the Bassoon. Six weeks after first playing that double reed, he was hired to play Second Bassoon in the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. And the rest, as they say, is history.

With many years as a much-loved Band Director and Symphony player, Frank is a well-respected and valued member of the Spartanburg Philharmonic. In 1991, Frank was awarded the position of Principal Bassoon, and we have held him close ever since!

Originally from Iowa, Rosalind moved to Asheville, NC after graduating from the New England Conservatory in Boston. She decided to move south after visiting a friend and bagpipe-maker in the area and immediately fell in love with the rich folk and classical music scenes. Rosalind has been a member of the Spartanburg Philharmonic since 2012, and she also performs regularly with Greenville Symphony, Asheville Symphony, Brevard Philharmonic, and Johnson City Symphony.

But the bassoon isn’t Rosalind’s only musical passion. She began on the recorder, followed by the piano, then the clarinet. Eventually, she focused on the bassoon, but also includes seven additional instruments in her repertoire: Great Highland Bagpipes, Scottish Smallpipes, whistle, recorder, bombarde, banjo, and riq!

“I started learning Scottish pipes my senior year of high school and have been playing them ever since. It was really great luck: my band director wanted to learn how to play himself, so he brought a teacher into the school and offered lessons to the students for free. I think I levitated out of my chair when he asked the band for a raise of hands to see who was interested in learning.”

Rosalind and her Scottish pipes have been a regular staple of the Music Sandwiched In series in the past as one half of her celtic duo The Reel Sisters. We are excited to say, she and her bagpipes will be featured on our upcoming March 18 Espresso concert next spring!