Keith Buncke will join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as its principal bassoon, effective July 6.
The appointment was announced May 21 by Riccardo Muti, CSO music director, and Jeff Alexander, CSO president. Buncke, 21, replaces David McGill, who retired last year to join the faculty of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Currently the principal bassoon of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Buncke was appointed to that post in 2014 while still a student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Before officially joining the CSO, Buncke will perform in subscription concerts May 21-23 with guest conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and June 11-13 and June 18-20 under Muti.
A native of Portland, Ore., Buncke has performed as soloist with the Oregon Symphony in its children’s concerts, as well as on NPR’s From the Top. He was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and has participated in the Pacific Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, and the Sarasota and Aspen music festivals. He is an alumnus of Interlochen Arts Academy.