About the NCCP Players
Frank Morelli
Bassoon
Patty Miller and Dennis Murphy Chair
Introduced to the bassoon while in public school in his hometown of Massapequa, New York, Frank Morelli studied with Stephen Maxym at the Manhattan and Juilliard Schools of Music. He was the first bassoonist to be awarded a doctorate by the Juilliard School.
You may have seen him as a "coach" in TV ads promoting music education. With over one hundred and forty recordings for major record labels to his credit, his recording of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra on the Deutsche Grammophon record label won international critical acclaim.
He has two solo CDs (one of baroque favorites and one featuring the music of Brazilian composers) soon to be released. The Orpheus CD "Shadow Dances," which features Frank Morelli, won a 2001 Grammy Award.
This past May, Morelli made his eighth appearance as a soloist in Carnegie Hall. A prolific chamber musician, he has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on numerous occasions, including at the White House for the final State Dinner of the Clinton presidency.
He is a member of the renowned quintet, Windscape, which is an ensemble in residence at the Manhattan School of Music. Chosen to succeed his teacher, Stephen Maxym, Mr. Morelli serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School, as well as the Yale and Manhattan Schools of Music. His former students are now performing and teaching in the US, Canada, Taiwan, Korea and throughout Europe.
He is editor of Stravinsky: Difficult Passages for Bassoon, published by Boosey & Hawkes, which is the only excerpt book dedicated entirely to the works of Igor Stravinsky. Morelli is principal bassoonist of the New York City Opera, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra.