Keith Gates: Music

Michael McCraw is cited in the newest edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians as one of the most important early bassoon players and pedagogues of our time. A pioneer in the field of baroque performance with original instruments, he began his career in New York City as a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

McCraw has played with such ensembles as Musica Antiqua Köln, Concentus Musicus Wien, London Baroque, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and Camerata Köln. From 1991 through 2002, he was principal bassoonist of the Tafelmusik Orchestra.

McCraw has taught at festivals and workshops all over the world and was a faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. His recordings number more than 140 and include a highly acclaimed CD of Vivaldi bassoon concerti with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. McCraw serves as musical director of the baroque double reed workshop in Albuquerque, N. M.

McCraw received a B.M. in bassoon from the North Carolina School of the Arts (1969), and has also received an M.A. in Music History from the City College of New York, and a Performer's Certificate in Bassoon from the Mozarteum.