School of Music

Praised for her diverse talents, bassoonist Dana Jessen is in high demand as a soloist, chamber musician, improviser and new music specialist. Dana is the co-founder of Splinter Reeds, a San Francisco-based reed quintet and has performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Dal Niente, Anthony Braxton's Tri-Centric Orchestra, S.E.M. Ensemble, Calefax Quintet, Rushes Ensemble, Pamela Z, Lucky Dragons, and the Amsterdam Contemporary Ensemble, among others. Her strong ambitions to explore free jazz and creative improvisation have led to performances throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States with such improvisers as Wilbert de Joode, Frank Gratkowski, Michael Vatcher, Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum, Michael Moore, Mary Halvorson, Ab Baars, Anne La Berge, Erica Dicker, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Mike Reed and others.

Dana is currently the Director of Professional Development and Associate Professor of Contemporary Music and Improvisation at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Dana holds a M.M. in Bassoon Performance with academic honors from the New England Conservatory of Music and a M.M. in New Dutch Swing from the Artez Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in the Netherlands. She lived in Amsterdam for three years as the recipient of a 2009-2011 HSP Huygens Fellowship and 2008-2009 J. William Fulbright Fellowship where she researched contemporary and improvised music.