PERSPECTIVE – The first time she picked up a baton, about five years ago, bassoonist Rebekah Heller had a revelatory moment. She was coaching young musicians in the Florida-based New World Symphony, America’s orchestral academy, and she decided that one of the selections required a conductor.
“It’s like it woke something up in me,” said Heller, now well known also as a conductor. “I was so present. I was so connected, and it made me realize that the work of a conductor is kind of the work I had been doing all along in my career, which is to act as a translator between the vision of the composer to the ensemble, and then with the ensemble as a translator to the audience.”
In this conversation with Classical Gas host Gail Wein, Heller talks about getting the “conducting bug,” and about her fascination for music projects that involve lots of bassoons. Her forthcoming album, “Righteous Rage” (Cantaloupe, July 2026) includes works by Steve Reich, Julius Eastman, Brittany Green and others, all scored for bassoon ensemble.
Heller plays all the bassoon parts on the recording. She talks with Wein about the advantages – and the challenges – of performing them all herself.
