It’s time for another round of “5 Questions with…” Today’s post features Manhattan School of Music grad, Julliard student, bassoonist (& Instagrammer!) Morgan Davison, aka @morganpracticesbassoon.
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How did you get started playing bassoon?
I was always involved with music; my parents put me in piano lessons when I was 3. I loved piano, but couldn’t really get the whole two-hands-playing-differently thing, so I started flute at age 7. From then, I knew that I wanted to be a classical musician. I switched to oboe when I was 9, because my band teacher at school saw my love for music and wanted me to try a harder instrument. When I started taking oboe lessons, the teacher I had was a woodwind specialist, so she taught all the other woodwinds as well.
One day, I asked her what her favorite instrument to play was, and she said bassoon. Being 10, I had no idea what that was. She brought it in at the next lesson for me to try, and as soon as I played it, I fell in love. The rest is history!
What has your music education looked like?
My music education has spanned my whole life. I attended schools that all had excellent music programs, because my parents recognized my love for music early on and supported me whole-heartedly. I’m from Denver, Colorado, and they have a 6-12th grade public magnet school called Denver School of the Arts, which had majors like band, orchestra, visual arts, dance, theater, etc. We had no sports, but an incredible panel of academic teachers, so for 4 years I got to study everything I loved, musically and non-musically.
After 4 years there, I was going into my sophomore year of high school, and myself and the people around me realized that DSA wasn’t satisfying me artistically anymore. I needed to be in a more challenging environment, and Denver wasn’t cutting it. My parents made the hard decision to send me to Interlochen Arts Academy for the school year, which is laid out exactly like DSA, except it’s rigorous and harder to get in, and it’s a boarding school in Northern Michigan.
While I was there, I matured with my fellow classmates a little quicker than the other artists my age, which put me in an extremely music focused head space for the rest of my high school years. Then I attended Manhattan School of Music, which is a college-level conservatory, with some of the same majors that DSA and Interlochen had. So, basically my whole life, I have been enrolled in programs that are art-specific, as well as taking private lessons on my instrument.
Why did you start posting on @morganpracticesbassoon?
The summer between my junior and senior years at MSM, I was at a summer festival, and surrounded by people who were at these great schools and conservatories, and started to pick up on some of the practice habits they had. I had the unfortunate (and slightly crushing) realization that I wasn’t practicing nearly enough. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I was practicing maybe twice a week, and sometimes, weeks would pass. I took a hard look at myself and knew that if I didn’t change something, I wouldn’t end up where I really wanted and needed to be. So, I had to figure out a way to force myself to practice every day.
At first I thought I would just record myself and keep a video journal, but I knew that I would find a way to make excuses and procrastinate enough for that idea to fail. I knew then that I needed to make a journal of sorts on a public platform. When I created @morganpracticesbassoon, I thought it would only be followed by my close friends/colleagues, which would be enough for me to be motivated.
However, more and more people started following. Soon it got to be about 100-150 followers a day, and at that point I realized that it was only up from there. I knew that in order to keep my followers happy and myself happy I needed to post every day. So I did. There are good days and bad days, but I have to say that the improvement I’ve had since one year ago is pleasantly surprising. And of course, the opportunities, conversations, and support that I’ve received from having the account in unparalleled, and extremely motivating.
Did you consciously work to make your Instagram account grow, or did it just happen?
I didn’t consciously work on it; honestly I never would have dreamed that I could have almost 20,000 followers. I just kept posting videos that I thought would help me become a better player, and hopefully teach younger beginning bassoonists the ropes a little bit.
Would you tell us a little about #StravinskySaturday?
Stravinsky has always been a part of my life. When I was 4 or 5, my favorite movie to watch was Fantasia 2000. My favorite clip from that movie was always the Firebird. The music just really had a way of engaging me. Since I’ve been a classical musician all my life, Stravinsky’s music kept alluring me as I grew, and soon, after learning many standard excerpts on bassoon which happened to be from his music, Stravinsky became a deeper part of my self and my role as a musician, and I couldn’t ignore it.
I started listening to all of his music and studying about his life. To me, Stravinsky is a mentor and a friend, even though he’s dead. He was a celebrity when he lived, so his words are still alive, as of course is his music. His whole personality and history is there for anyone to know about. He was so far ahead of his time when he wrote masterpieces such as Rite of Spring and Petrushka.
My point with #StravinskySaturday is that hopefully people can get a glimpse into what I see about Stravinsky. I want everyone to love his music as much as I do, and to know about everything he wrote, besides his most famous works. He was such a versatile composer, musician, and person that I think every person could learn at least one thing from him.
And there you have 5 Questions with…Morgan Davison (aka @morganpracticesbassoon)!
Be sure to give her a follow on Instagram & YouTube! Tell her I sent ya!
-Barbara
Morgan Davison began her studies on bassoon at the age of 10 in her hometown of Denver, CO. She has won many awards in organizations including the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition, the Asian Double Reed Association Competition, the national YoungArts Foundation, and the Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado. She attended Interlochen Academy of the Arts for her high school education, and recently graduated from Manhattan School of Music with her Bachelor’s degree. She now is pursuing a Master’s degree at the Juilliard School.
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Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.