Chicago's Bassoon Section at the 1972 Performance of Karl-Heinz Köper's Concerto for Bassoon Quartet and Orchestra
Composer as well as performer, Willard Elliot twice has played his Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Seiji Ozawa and Jean Martinon. And his Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon was played during the 1966-67 Chicago S.O. Chamber Music Series .
In 1961 he was a co-winner of the Koussevitsky Foundation Award for his Elegy for Orchestra, which Paul Kletzki conducted with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He also won the National Federation of Music Clubs' Contest in Composition in 1947.
Mr. Elliot came to Chicago as principal bassoonist in 1964 after three years with the Houston Symphony and eleven years with the Dallas Symphony.
Born in Ft. Worth, Texas, July 18, 1926, Willard Elliot received the bachelor of music degree from North Texas State College, Denton, Texas, at 18 years of age. After this he attended the Eastman School of Music at Rochester, New York, and received the master's degree one year later. At Eastman he was a student of Vincent Pezzi, and afterwards he studied further with Sanford Sharoff.
Mr. Elliot's wife is Gladys (Crisler) Elliot, who was principal oboist in the Dallas Symphony, and after moving to Chicago became principal oboist of the Chicago Lyric Opera and Grant Park Orchestras, as well as a member of the University of Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players.
John Raitt, Assistant Principal, has played this position since 1949. His original instrument, however, was the flute, which he studied with Ernest Liegl. After he changed to the bassoon, his teachers were Hjalmar Rabe and Hugo Fox, both Chicago Symphony members. He was a member of the Civic Orchestra and was first bassoonist of the Chicago NYA Orchestra while a high school student at LaGrange.
Following Air Force service during WW II, Mr. Raitt was first bassoonist with the Arkansas State Symphony. He was first bassoonist for twelve years with the Grant Park Symphony and played first bassoon at the Ravinia Festival in 1962.
He and his wife, Marjorie, a cellist, live in Arlington Heights with their children, Michael; Leslie, a piano student; Barbara who studies violin; and Robin, a flute student.
Wilbur H. Simpson, Second. A native of Angola, Indiana, Mr. Simpson attended Northwestern University where he studied bassoon with Hugo Fox, first bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and earned the degree of Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music. After graduation he taught instrumental music in the Forest Park, Illinois, Public Schools and played extensively around Chicago in such groups as the Grant Park Symphony, theater and opera orchestras and at WGN.
After four years as a musician in the Navy, Mr. Simpson returned in the summer of 1946 to play first bassoon with the Grant Park Symphony. In the fall of that same year he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and also became the bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Woodwind Quintet in which he played until 1971.
Widely known as a teacher, Mr. Simpson is Professor of Bassoon at Northwestern University and performs as a member of the Northwestern Chamber Music Society. He also teaches at DePaul University and at Chicago Conservatory College.
Burl Lane, Contra. Mr. Lane was born in Picher, Oklahoma, in 1939 and began his music studies on the piano when he was seven years old. He later turned to orchestral instruments, including the bassoon, and was graduated from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. During his years in college he played contra-bassoon with the Tulsa Philharmonic.
Mr. Lane then went to New York City to study bassoon with Harold Goltzer of the New York Philharmonic and to attend the Juilliard School of Music. After three years he received a professional diploma in bassoon and a Master of Science degree.
During his New York residence, Mr. Lane did considerable free-lancing, including performing with Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera orchestras, From 1961-63 he participated in the Aspen (Colo.) Music Festival as a student and member of the festival orchestra.
In the summer of 1965, Burl Lane became the Chicago Symphony's contra-bassoon player at the beginning of the Ravinia Festival season. He is a teaching associate in bassoon with the Northwestern University preparatory department.