Dana Jessen

Praised for her diverse talents, bassoonist Dana Jessen is active as a soloist, chamber musician, improviser and new music specialist. Dana is the co-founder of Splinter Reeds and has performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Ensemble Dal Niente, Anthony Braxton's Tri-Centric Orchestra, and the Rushes Ensemble among others. Her tireless commitment to expand the modern bassoon repertoire through collaborations with composers has led to dozens of new solo, chamber and electroacoustic works. In 2009, Dana spearheaded the consortium commission for Rushes, an hour-long composition for seven bassoons by composer and Bang On a Can co-founder, Michael Gordon. Her solo program, Carve, features pieces for bassoon and electronics that blur the lines between composition, interpretation, and improvisation with works by George Lewis, Paula Matthusen, Sam Pluta, Peter V. Swendsen, and Kyle Bruckmann. Her debut album, of the same title, was released in January 2017 through Innova Recordings. She can also be heard on Cantaloupe Records, RIOJA, Oberlin Music, Evil Rabbit and New World Records.