Cassandra Roaché is a bassoonist whose work centers on chamber music, new music advocacy, and education. She aims to cultivate community wherever she goes, connecting with others through audience engagement and by pushing the limits of bassoon performance.
Cassandra maintains a special interest in chamber music. She regularly appears with the Sonora Winds and LADYBAND Chamber Winds. She also performed extensively with the Solerna Wind Quintet in Minneapolis and the University of Georgia Southern Wind Quintet. Along with Bryan Michael Wysocki, she gave the world premiere of “Plastic hugs. Emptiness” for bassoon and percussion at the Music by Women Festival in Columbus, Missouri in 2023.
With regards to large ensemble performance, Cassandra is the principal bassoonist of the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Sinfonia, Appalachia: A Southeastern Wind Symphony, and the North Georgia Winds.
As a new music advocate, Cassandra is interested in working with living composers and performing works written within the past fifty years. Most recently, she was a member of Lisa Neher’s consortium for her piece, Sunflower Sea Star. She has also performed with the University of Georgia Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Through this ensemble, she has also had opportunities to collaborate with the Athens Hip Hop Harmonic, working with artists such as Convict Julie, Kxng Blanco, Linqua Franqa, and Celeste Divine.
Cassandra is a committed educator and has been described as possessing “the rare balance of excellence in both performing and teaching.” She has taught in the North Texas and North Georgia areas and has had students participate in University of Georgia MidFest and win bassoon scholarships to McCallie Boarding School. Cassandra’s pedagogy centers on meeting a student where they are and equipping them with the tools necessary to perform at their best. She currently maintains a small studio in Minneapolis and has applied her pedagogy in the recently published band method book, The Band Code.
Cassandra holds a master’s degree from the University of Georgia, where she studied with Dr. Amy Pollard, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas, where she studied with Kathleen Reynolds and Dr. Jorge Cruz. She also studied with Bonnie Sherman of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Cassandra is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she works as a bassoon specialist with Midwest Musical Imports. In her spare time, Cassandra enjoys playing video games, weightlifting, and debating the complexities of life with her Siamese cat, Violet.