Bassoon
William & Sarah Ovens Bassoon
A member of the Seattle Symphony since 1992, bassoonist Paul Rafanelli has been a familiar face on that orchestra’s Chamber Series. He has also been a frequent guest artist with the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival and the Orca Concert Series as well as performing with the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the Seattle Chamber Players. Earlier in his career, Rafanelli was a member of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina, and has played in the Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy and the Spoleto Festival USA. He has been a concerto soloist with the Seattle Symphony and the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his duties with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera, he is a prominent teacher in the Seattle area. From 1998 to 2014, he served on the faculty of the University of Puget Sound, where he was the Affiliate Artist in bassoon. In October of 2021, he joined the faculty of the University of Washington as Artist in Residence. Rafanelli was born in Seattle in 1963 and received his training at the University of Washington, Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. He is fluent in Italian and welcomes any chance to speak it, preferably with fine wine and food. His bassoon was custom made by the Wilhelm Heckel Co. in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1986.
