About

At six years old, Casey won free piano lessons in a school raffle, and her life has been full of music ever since. She regularly performs the music she loves around the world.

Casey Gsell joins the Toledo Symphony Orchestra as Principal Bassoon and the faculty of the University of Toledo after serving as Principal Bassoon of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra and Acting Associate Principal Bassoon of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Casey also recently performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds, Auckland Philharmonia, Sarasota Orchestra, New Zealand Opera, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Wellington, Plano Symphony, Richardson Symphony, and others. She is a part of many Naxos and SOUNZ label recordings. Casey can be heard regularly on Radio New Zealand Concert, WWFM New York City, WGTE FM 91, and twice served as a guest expert on Radio New Zealand National.

Casey has performed as a soloist with the Toledo Symphony multiple times, including in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Daugherty’s Dead Elvis, Françaix’s Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings, and Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, and Stephenson’s BasSOON It Will Be Christmas. She has performed recitals around the world.

A grant-winning animateur and teacher, she is the Bassoon Instructor for the University of Toledo. She has also worked on the faculty of the New England Music Camp, King’s College Auckland, and as an outreach artist for Young Audiences of America. She has given recitals and masterclasses for Rutgers University, University of Auckland, Australasian Double Reed Society, Young Audiences of America, Bowling Green State University, University of Oregon, Wright State University, and others.

A passionate chamber musician, Casey enjoys bringing music to community and non-traditional venues, and she has twice been chosen to present at International Double Reed Society conferences. She regularly performs new music, including as a member of Vitamin S, Blackbird Ensemble, Spool, Three Shades Black, Plastic Sheep, and The Pneumatic Winds. As a member of Plastic Sheep, she collaborated with electronic musician Reverbaphon and guitarist Joel Vinsen, creating live video art sound projects, culminating in immersive performances with live improvisation, video projections, and a CD. The Pneumatic Winds trio commissioned a piece by composer Christopher Adams, inspired by his favorite childhood toys.

Her teachers include Wilfred Roberts, Roger Nye, and John Hunt. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Southern Methodist University. Casey attended the residential high school program at The North Carolina School of the Arts as well as the National Repertory Orchestra and Youth Orchestra of the Americas. She has won international prizes for solo and chamber music performances, including Best Overall Performer and the Senior Section First Prize at the Australasian Double Reed Society's Double Reed Competition and Best Overall Performer and First Prize at the Queensland Double Reed Society Competition.

Casey's arts administration projects are also successful, known for being well-organized and financially stable. Most recently, she founded the New Zealand Double Reed Society and served on its executive board for four years. With effective recruiting, it quickly became the largest and most active branch of the Australasian Double Reed Society (total assets over $50,000), running a wide variety of events including large international conferences, masterclasses, national radio appearances, recitals, chamber music clubs, pre-concert talks, reedmaking workshops, double reed band days, performance hours, house concerts, and more. The New Zealand Double Reed Society is still thriving today. Casey also works on committees for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, including the panel that selected the most recent music director and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She is the Toledo Symphony’s Regional Orchestra Players’ Association representative, and she sits on ROPA’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She volunteered with the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre helping music therapists working with mentally handicapped youth, and she created fundraising concerts for the Auckland City Mission, providing services for the homeless.

Originally from the foothills of Appalachia, Casey lives in Toledo, OH, with her husband. She has a wide range of mindful body and mind practices on which to draw to help music students perform more freely. She is on the faculty of the Toledo Mindfulness Institute. She has studied yoga since 2001 and taught since 2007 after earning her 500 hour teaching certification from Sunstone Yoga. She is an advanced Alexander Technique practitioner. She has practiced Zen meditation for over twenty years and currently practices at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo.