Whitney Crockett

Bassoon

Principal

Member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009

Whitney Crockett joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Principal Bassoon as one of Gustavo Dudamel’s first appointments.

He came to Los Angeles after 12 years as Principal Bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under James Levine. Prior to his work in New York, Crockett held the same position with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Earlier in his career, he held Principal Bassoon positions with the Florida Orchestra, the South Florida Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacionál of the Dominican Republic.

As a soloist, Crockett has appeared with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra, the Bellingham Festival Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy. He has performed regularly on the Met Chamber Players series at Carnegie Hall, and he has recorded, performed, and toured extensively with the New York Kammermusiker double reed ensemble.

We’re in the position of developing a culture as opposed to other places where you’re adhering to a culture. In some ways it’s a very good thing, and in others it’s challenging. It’s a lot like LA in that it is still discovering what it is and is evolving what it means to be a city. It’s exciting.

Whitney Crockett Bassoonist

A respected pedagogue, Crockett has served on the faculties of the Juilliard and Manhattan schools of music, as well as McGill University in Montreal and the Académie de Verbier in Switzerland. He has given master classes at numerous institutions, including the Domaine Forget in Québec, the Curtis Institute, the Puerto Rico Conservatory, and many universities across the United States.

A native of Miami, Whitney Crockett began his bassoon studies with Michael Finn and Luciano Magnanini. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Stephen Maxym.