Ronan Whittern, Bassoon

Ronan Whittern was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and studied in St Finian’s College, Mullingar, Ireland, and Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the tutelage of David Hubbard and Peter Whelan.
Ronan Whittern is now in the second year of his Masters under the tutelage of David Hubbard. Over the last years, he has participated in the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Professional Experience Scheme, London Sinfonietta Academy, Klangspuren Schwaz International Ensemble Modern Academy, and has participated in a similar scheme with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a finalist in the RCS Classical Concerto Competition, and recently won the RCS Governors Recital Prize for Chamber Music with his group Trio Arcania. He also participated in master classes with Pascal Gallois, Sarah Watts, Andrea de Flammeneis, and Amy Harman.
During his time at the Conservatoire, Ronan Whittern had the opportunity to pursue specialisms in Historically Informed Performance Practice, and contemporary music. In his research in to the performance of contemporary music, he has commissioned and premiered a number of works, including works by Henry McPherson, Rory Comerford, Gregor Forbes, and is currently collaborating with Irish composer Christopher Moriarty-Pearson on a new work for solo bassoon to be premiered later this year. He has given the Scottish premieres of Dai Fujikura’s work for bassoon and cello, ›The Voice‹, Vladislav Shoot’s Trio for Bassoon, Cello, and Percussion, and Megan Gagnidze’s Trio for Bassoon, Violin, and Cello. Ronan Whittern has also performed many important repertoire pieces for solo bassoon, including Karlheinz Stockhausen’s ›In Freundschaft‹, Isang Yun’s ›Monolog‹, and for ensemble, including James MacMillan’s ›The World’s Ransoming‹, Oliver Knussen’s ›Coursing‹, and Enno Poppe’s ›Speicher I‹. Ronan Whittern also has a keen interest in free improvisation, and recently participated and performed in the METRIC (Modernising European Higher Music Education through Improvisation) conference at the RCS with his improvisation group EAST.