Preman Tilson, Bassoon

Preman Tilson is Principal Bassoon of Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Philharmonic, the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, the Lyric Ensemble and Orchestra Wellington (New Zealand). He is Artist-Professor of Bassoon at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. 

He was formerly Principal Bassoon of the Arizona Opera Company, the Memphis Symphony, the Lake Forest Symphony and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO), as well as Assistant Principal of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony, and in New Zealand with the orchestras of Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. He was professor of bassoon at the New Zealand School of Music.

He was soloist many times with the NZSO, in works of Mozart, Weber, Elgar and Martin Lodge. He gave the world premier of the latter's Winterlight for bassoon and orchestra, and recorded Elgar's Romance for bassoon and orchestra on the Naxos label. He also gave the premiere performances of Anthony Ritchie's Rites of Passage for bassoon and string quintet, and recorded it for the Atoll label.

Preman attended the University of Arizona, Boston University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (MM). His teachers included Arthur Weisberg and Sol Schoenbach.

He is also very active as an arranger, including for performances of the Joffrey Ballet and Midsummer's Music (Wisconsin). He has an extensive catalog of chamber music arrangements, including many works for bassoon and strings. Below are links to performances of several of these works (all files are safe to open):

Elgar Romance: https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.557577

Vaughan Williams English Folk Song 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZVhOHz-HYUFAQqW915Yk7ECcC3DQ83fu/view?usp=sharing

Vaughan Williams English Folk Song 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10pfm3UY7jo4zPvy9kYawryIABh62VUB_/view?usp=sharing

Ravel Habanera: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xrBqqzyqnCT3dVCwS1FS34rs7ro-rJX/view?usp=sharing

Spohr Adagio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uDAz5ZQbh00hl-DCLBF5iks47VtA1SGd/view?usp=sharing

Weber Andante and Hungarian Rondo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cu6d5fSFviMDITLTQXPTg7wfCj_B53Pk/view?usp=sharing

Stravinsky: Firebird (bassoon solo at 36'53"): https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/musicalive/20191206