Author - Christopher Millard

In 2004, on the invitation of Pinchas Zukerman, Christopher Millard joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Principal Bassoon. He previously served 29 seasons as the principal bassoon for the Vancouver Symphony and the CBC Radio Orchestra.

A regular guest artist and teacher at the Scotia, Orford, Vancouver, and Ottawa Festivals, Domaine Forget, the Banff Centre, Sante Fe Chamber Music, and Chamber Music Northwest, Mr. Millard has also appeared in concert and recordings with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Marlboro Festival, The World Orchestra for Peace, and as principal bassoon for the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra.

A student of the legendary Sol Schoenbach at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, he also studied with the great French flutist Marcel Moyse. Mr. Millard, a long time faculty member of the University of British Columbia Music Department, now serves on the faculty of the University of Ottawa. He was bassoon professor for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada where for 20 years he helped to nurture many of the best of the new generation of Canadian wind players. In September 2007, Mr. Millard will join the faculty of Northwestern University in Chicago.

Christopher Millard has received wide praise for his solo recordings, which include several discs for Summit Records, a CBC records disc of Italian concerti with Mario Bernardi and the CBC Radio Orchestra. His most recent recordings include a new Schubert Octet with the Canadian Chamber Players, and the Hetu Bassoon Concerto, which was awarded a 2004 Juno. The peer journal, The Double Reed, in a recent review of his CD Duos, called Mr. Millard “one of the great bassoonists of the 20th century.”

Christopher Millard is the host of the National Arts Centre’s [i]NACOcast[/i], a podcast for classical music fans. He is also an expert woodwind technician and operates a repair shop for bassoonists and clarinetists in Ottawa.