Michael Quigley

Now officially a “snowbird” Michael Quigley migrated to Miami from Toronto, Canada, and is a now a third-year Bassoon Fellow and holds The Karen Bechtel and William Osborne Bassoon Fellowship.  

Previously, Michael served as Acting Principal Bassoon of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, in Northern Ontario. He also recently made his debut as a concerto soloist, where he performed two Vivaldi Bassoon Concertos with Consortium Aurora Borealis. Michael has a bachelor’s degree in music from University of Toronto, where he studied under Canadian Opera Company bassoonist, Eric Hall. Michael also has a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Metropolitan Opera bassoonist, William Short.  

An extremely passionate chamber musician, Michael is a strong advocate for the inclusion of bassoon in chamber music and small ensemble settings, where the instrument has more room to be expressive and is free to explore a wider range of tone colors. To this end, he has worked to commission multiple chamber works for bassoon and string quintet, which he has premiered and performed alongside pre-existing works for bassoon and strings. In the 2022-23 season, Michael participated in the Orchestra of St Luke’s Chamber Music Mentorship Program in New York, in a small chamber ensemble composed of friends and colleagues from the Manhattan School of Music.  

During his summers, Michael regularly performs in a variety of music festivals, including three years at the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. In 2024 he spent his summer in South Korea, participating in the Korean National Symphony Orchestra’s International Academy, where he received an award for outstanding performance, sponsored by The Korea Times Newspaper.  

When he isn’t holding a bassoon, Michael can be found cooking, gardening, getting extremely lost on long hikes and searching for his next cup of coffee.

Photo by Max Zhang.