Conrad Cornelison joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as Principal Bassoon in 2022 at the appointment of Music Director Jader Bignamini. Since 2017, Cornelison has served with the Jacksonville Symphony in the same position. While living in Florida, he also served as Adjunct Professor of Bassoon at the University of North Florida from 2017 to 2022. Prior to his work in Jacksonville, he held positions with the Houston Grand Opera, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony of Southeast Texas. He has also appeared as a guest musician with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the San Antonio Symphony, among others.

During his summers, Cornelison regularly performs at Festival Mozaic, a chamber music and orchestra festival in San Luis Obispo, California, under the direction of Scott Yoo. He has also performed with the Bellingham Festival of Music and the Saint Augustine Music Festival and has served on the bassoon faculty of Interlochen Bassoon Institute. Cornelison has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on numerous occasions with the San Marco Chamber Music Society and has appeared as a performer on the PBS series Now Hear This by Great Performances. Many of his performances with the Jacksonville Symphony and Festival Mozaic have been broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today.

Cornelison holds degrees from The Juilliard School (Bachelor of Music) and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music (Master of Music) where he studied with Patricia Rogers and Benjamin Kamins, respectively. He is an alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with Eric Stomberg, and his early bassoon studies were with Matthew Schuler and Dan Duncan.

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Art & Betty Blair New Member Chair