Timothy McGovern

Timothy McGovern recently retired after thirty years as Associate Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois and over twenty years with the Prairie Winds Woodwind Quintet. Timothy is currently Principal Bassoonist of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Chamber Orchestra and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. For seven years, he was Associate Principal Bassoonist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the L’Opera de Montreal Orchestra and Principal Bassoonist of the Montreal Symphonette, McGill Chamber Orchestra and Principal Bassoon of the Ravinia Festival Orchestra. Early in his career, he was contrabassoonist with the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. Professor McGovern was a Visiting Associate Bassoon Professor at Indiana University, and a bassoon instructor and chamber music coach at McGill University.

He began his career as Assistant Director of Bands, Jazz Band, Athletic Band, Bassoon and Saxophone at St. Cloud State University and the University of Delaware. He attended Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. His bassoon teachers included L. Hugh Cooper, Sherman Walt, Willard Elliot, Wilbur Simpson, and Ronald Noble. He is a recipient of two Tanglewood Music Center Fellowships.

Professor McGovern has performed with the Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Delaware, Grant Park, Chicago Theater Festival, Camerata de Chicago, Chicago Symphonette, Chicago Opera Theater Orchestras, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among others. He has recorded 35 CD’s of orchestral, chamber music and solo repertoire with London/Decca, CBC, Albany and Zephyr recording companies. Tours with orchestras and chamber groups have taken him throughout North and South America, Europe, Japan, and Korea.