Joey Lavarias

Bassoonist Joey Lavarias is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying with Michael Burns. He holds the second bassoon position with the Durham Symphony Orchestra and maintains a strong interest in music theory, with a particular emphasis in ear training.

Credentials

• Graduate Assistantship at UNCG, working in the Music Theory Department.
• Teaching Fellow for the Juilliard Ear Training Department, working under Rebecca Scott and Wayne Oquin.
• Guest teaching artist at stArt Summer Arts Intensive of Osceola County, Florida; the Central Florida Road to College Workshop; and the Bocal Majority Northern California Summer Camp.

Career Highlights

• Principal bassoonist of the Juilliard Orchestra and Opera for six years.
• Played under conductors including Marin Alsop, David Robertson and Alan Gilbert.
• Held the second bassoon position in the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Montana.
• Performed with orchestras around the country including the Charlotte Symphony, Asheville Symphony, Piedmont Wind Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, Chelsea Symphony and the Chesapeake Orchestra.
• Made concert appearances throughout the world in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall.
• Performed at the New York String Orchestra Seminar, National Orchestral Institute (where he recorded a Grammy-nominated album with the NOI Philharmonic), Miami Summer Music Festival and the Alba Music Festival in Italy.
• Participated in seminars led by the Cleveland Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony.
• Featured on radio and television programs such as CBS Sunday Morning and the 2019 BBC Proms.

Awards, Recognitions and Honors

• Recipient of a UNCG Graduate Fellowship.
• Designated as a Minerva Scholar.
• Recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Graduate Fellowship.