Introduced to the bassoon in the Massapequa, LI, NY public schools, Woodbridge, CT resident Frank Morelli later studied with Stephen Maxym, and was the first bassoonist to be awarded a doctorate by The Juilliard School. He has appeared as a soloist on Carnegie Hall’s mainstage on nine occasions and performed regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for over thirty years, including at the Whitehouse for the final State Dinner of the Clinton Presidency. Morelli recently retired after 45 years as Co-Principal Bassoon of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Entering his 33nd year in 2026 as Associate Professor Adjunct of bassoon and chamber music at the Yale School of Music, he held faculty positions in the past at the Aaron Copland School of Music (2020-2024), The Juilliard School (1991-2021), SUNY Stony Brook (2004-2023), and the Manhattan School of Music (1989-2026), where he recently retired from the faculty and as a founding member of the woodwind quintet in residence, Windscape. 

 

With nearly 200 CDs to his credit, and following his solo album An die Musik with music of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms on the Musica Solis label, Mr. Morelli has just released From the Soul with music by Jeff Scott, Lori Laitman, Dominick Argento, Wynton Marsalis and Nirmali Fenn. He also has four previous solo CDs on MSR Classics: From the Heart and Romance and Caprice, with pianist Gilbert Kalish, Bassoon Brasileiro with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Baroque Fireworks with Kenneth Cooper. Of his DG recording of Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with Orpheus, Fanfare Magazine stated that this recording “reset a reviewer’s standards at too high a level for comfort in a world more productive of ordinary music making.” The magazine Gramophone wrote: “DG…recorded all of Mozart’s wind concertos with Orpheus players as soloists…Frank Morelli’s Bassoon Concerto is probably the pick of this series.” And “Morelli’s playing is a joy to behold.” The American Record Guide stated: “the bassoon playing … is a good as it gets.” Frank Morelli has also delved into compositions, composers and performers who have ties to the “classical” and jazz worlds. JazzWeekly.com stated of Morelli’s recent foray into jazz (The OX-MO Incident-Capri CD) with saxophonist Keith Oxman: “Morelli makes the usually unwieldy bassoon work wonders…the team bops with delight on a fun filled ‘Surrey With The Fringe On Top.’ Morelli glistens on the classical-themed ‘Full Moon and Empty Arms’ and is elegiac on ‘Three For Five.’” The next album on Capri of this type titled “CLASSICOOL”, to be released in late 2026, is devoted exclusively to composers and performers with ties to the “classical” and jazz worlds. Mr. Morelli is also heard in a supporting role on two CDs by legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter that are also Grammy winners. The Orpheus CD Shadow Dances, that features Frank Morelli, won a 2001 Grammy Award. 

 

A performer or juror at the most prestigious festivals worldwide, he recently retired from Windscape, woodwind quintet in residence at MSM, of which he was a founding member. He can be heard on several CDs with Windscape, including one featuring the music of Maurice Ravel, which includes Morelli’s transcriptions of Mother Goose and Valses nobles et senimentales, both published by TrevCo. His other numerous published transcriptions (also TrevCo), as well as the landmark excerpt book, Stravinsky: Difficult Passages for Bassoon (Boosey & Hawkes) and his unmatched edition of the most celebrated bassoon method, The First Complete Weissenborn Method and Studies, (Carl Fischer) have all proved to be extremely popular.
 

Frank Morelli plays a Leitzinger bassoon exclusively. Visit www.morellibassoon.com.