Cassandra Roaché is a bassoonist whose work exists at the intersection of high quality performance, new music advocacy, and holistic education. She prefers exploring unusual sonic textures, the dichotomy between dissonance and resonance, music as a process, and challenging “traditional” concert etiquette in American classical music culture. Her music-making at its heart aims to celebrate all things wonderfully strange and unique.
Chamber music is a special interest of Cassandra’s; she enjoys working in smaller, more intimate settings and exercising creative license when it comes to interpreting music. When she appears with groups like the Sonora Winds and LADYBAND Chamber Winds, you can expect to hear a collaborative musician whose sound blends well within the texture of the ensemble, and stands out when needed. Cassandra has plenty of experience performing in a quintet setting as well, most notably with the Solerna Wind Quintet in Minneapolis and the University of Georgia Southern Wind Quintet. While living in Georgia, she teamed up with composer-percussionist Bryan Michael Wysocki and 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 and very much enjoys getting to connect with the community of Eau Claire. 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 Sunflower Sea Star, a sonata written for bassoon and piano. She is also a member of Lisa’s consortium for her 2025 bassoon and clarinet duo, Southern Resident. She has also performed with the University of Georgia Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, which she attributes as the experience that set her on the path of performing and commissioning contemporary classical music. Through this ensemble, she has also had opportunities to collaborate with the Athens Hip Hop Harmonic, an experience that informs her creative process and passion for interdisciplinary performance.
Cassandra is a committed educator and has been described as possessing “the rare balance of excellence in both performing and teaching.” She has maintained private studios in Texas, Georgia, and Minnesota. Her students are active participants in their local and state communities, and have had honors such as invitation to University of Georgia MidFest, bassoon scholarships to McCallie Boarding School, and invitation to Minnesota State Honor Band.
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 private studio in Minneapolis and teaches in the MacPhail Center for Music’s School Partnerships program. Her pedagogy is present in the bassoon edition of 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, reading science fiction, weightlifting, and debating the complexities of life with her Siamese cat, Violet.