Matthew McDonald

Matthew McDonald has held the position of Principal Bassoon in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. Recently with that orchestra he has appeared as soloist playing Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in E Minor and Strauss’s Duett Concertino. Matthew is co-founder of Twickenham Fest, a chamber music festival in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, now in its 11th season. McDonald studied as a Young Artist at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and then at the Curtis Institute of Music. His teachers include Benjamin Kamins, Bernard Garfield, Daniel Matsukawa, and Barrick Stees. Previously, McDonald has been Principal Bassoon of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Co-Principal Bassoon of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. In addition to these more recent posts, Matthew McDonald was also Second Bassoon of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, a position he held at the age of 15, where he played next to his childhood teacher and mentor Hunter Thomas. A proud new father, Matthew lives with his wife Molly and daughter Chelsea and enjoys cooking and drinking espresso.