Céleste-Marie Roy
About
Céleste-Marie Roy grew up in Maine, beginning her musical endeavors at age 10 with recorder, clarinet and alto saxophone, finally settling with the bassoon at age 13. During her high school years, she travelled each weekend to the New England Conservatory Preparatory Division in Boston for music lessons, and was also a member of Ben Zander’s Youth Chamber Orchestra. At age 17, she was accepted to the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Professor Stephan Maxym, graduating with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. At age 20 she was chosen by Alexander Schneider to perform as soloist with the New York String Orchestra, making her solo début appearances in Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. Shortly thereafter, she was featured as soloist with several orchestras in New York, including the Little Orchestra Society, and appearing in such concert halls as the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the Town Hall, 43rd St.
In New York, Ms Roy was an active member of several ensembles, including Continuum, dedicated to the performance of contemporary music (featured on Musical Heritage® and Naxos® labels). During this period, she also became a member of the Naumberg Award- winning Aspen Wind Quintet, recording for the Bay City label. A participant for several summers at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in northern Germany, she performed under the baton of the late Leonard Bernstein, concertizing throughout Europe and Russia. At the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, she attended the summer program as a student of the late Rudolf Klepac. She continued her studies with Klaus Thunemann at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover, Germany, in the « Solistenklasse, » earning a coveted « Konzertexam » diploma. Subsequently, she held the position of principal bassoonist with the Hofer Symphoniker in Germany, performing frequently as soloist in concerts throughout Bavaria and the Czech Republic. Since 1997 she has been principal bassoonist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, Switzerland, where she has appeared often as soloist and continues to be active as a soloist and chamber musician. Recently, she received her post-graduate diploma from the Geneva Conservatory in Baroque bassoon.
In 2010 she collaborated with Phil Collins on his latest album, "Going Back", recording the bassoon parts for the songs: "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Tears of a Clown."