Akropolis is hiring a new bassoonist!

The Application Process

Round 1 Online Submission: Due November 30, 2026, notification by December 4, 2026
Round 2 In-person Rehearsal + Interview Round: January 4-8, 2027 in Michigan with the quintet 
Round 3 Concert Round: Selected candidates will be invited to perform with Akropolis Feb-April, 2027

**Please note if you are unavailable January 4-8, 2027 and you are up for consideration in Round 2, Akropolis will accommodate an in-person trial rehearsal date with you outside of these dates**

Round 3 tour dates include the following in 2027: February 1-9; February 21-March 2; April 12-18

Round 1 Online Submission

Please submit your online application here: www.akropolisquintet.org/bassoon-application

Round 1 application consists of the following:

• A résumé

• A short paragraph answering the following: 

  • What are your career goals over the next 5 years?

• A video of you speaking on camera, answering the following: 

  • Tell us about yourself and why you would like to join Akropolis? You may answer the question however you wish and at whatever length. 

• Individual videos of you performing the following excerpts. Please stand while performing if you are able.
  The excerpt packet containing parts, scores, and recordings can be found here

  • Excerpt 1 - Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, VI. Toccata, mm. 144-197

  • Excerpt 2 - Theo Chandler: Seed to Snag, II. Stretch, entire movement

  • Excerpt 3 - Jennifer Higdon: Rush Not The Reeds, mm. 143-161

  • Excerpt 4 - Marc Mellits: Splinter, II. Sugar Maple, G-end at ~230BPM

  • Excerpt 5 - Duke Ellington: NeoHipHotCoolKiddiesCommunitites, mm. 1-22

• Any live audio or video recording (video preferred) of yourself of your choice, less than three years old. This can also be a compilation of multiple pieces. No minimum length. Maximum 10'. For videos longer than 10’, indicate where to listen. 
  

Round 2 Live Trial Rehearsals/Live Interview

After the initial selection, we will hold an in-person rehearsal and interview with several candidates; this will take place January 4-8, 2027. This is a session with the entire ensemble, including Tim Gocklin (oboe), Kari Landry (clarinet), Matt Landry (saxophone), and Andrew Koeppe (bass clarinet). You will receive the repertoire for this session by December 5th. We will rehearse together for 2-3 hours, then talk over a meal to get to know the candidate better. 

If you are selected for a live trial rehearsal round but you have an immovable conflict during the January 4-8 window, a substitute date may be coordinated with the quintet. This trial rehearsal round will take place in Southeast Michigan. Travel, accommodations, and a meal stipend will be provided to the candidates. 

Round 3 Concerts

With a small number of final candidates, we will tour and give concerts in the first few months of 2027. These concerts will be scheduled in coordination with the candidates' existing schedules. Candidates will receive compensation for rehearsal and performance days. All travel, accommodations, and meals will be provided to the candidates as well. You will receive the repertoire for these concerts well in advance. 

Final Decision

The final decision will be made shortly following the final touring performance with the final candidate, slated to be April 12-18, 2027. This could be moved forward at Akropolis’ discretion. 

Start Date

Expected start date is July 1, 2027, coinciding with the beginning of the 27/28 fiscal year. 

The Bassoon Position

We are seeking a dynamic bassoonist to join Akropolis and help us continue to be at the forefront of wind music-making worldwide. Building and maintaining interpersonal trust and friendship within our ensemble and organization is paramount to our identity. Akropolis is driven by our relationships with each other, emphasizing the group dynamic and our core values of excellence and personal fulfillment. We seek to push boundaries and challenge each other, always seeking to grow and evolve. We promote a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone has space to be heard. We depend on honesty and candor built by trust. We emphasize the importance of spending quality time together, creating memories, and celebrating our lasting legacy on the music field. We celebrate excellence and determination as well as humility. We foster an environment that prioritizes the health and well-being of all our employees and staff above all else, and we aim to create a positive work-life balance. Our goal is to find a bassoonist who can join the Akropolis family for the long haul. 

We are looking for someone who: 

• Is an excellent bassoonist who demonstrates dynamism, richly varied expression, brings strong ideas, and plays with technical aplomb while not afraid to take risks 

• Brings ideas and opinions about art and how to move our art forward

• Values flexibility and personal growth, willing to continually evolve their playing in pursuit of collective artistic excellence 

• Enjoys growing interpersonal relationships with others

• Enjoys traveling and meeting new people in new places

• Values the role of a mentor and is comfortable supporting emerging artists and public school students in their creative development

• Is comfortable in a teaching/coaching environment

• Is organized and communicative 

• Is flexible to a variety of performing environments

Our calendar:

Akropolis operates with a blackout calendar where important conflicts in our individual lives and careers may be blocked off for booking with our management company, Ariel Artists, when given enough notice. Booked engagement details, such as dates and fees, are often negotiated between Akropolis, our manger, and the presenting entity. Once an engagement has been booked, it must be accepted by all Akropolis members. Bookings often occur 6 months to 2 years out from an engagement.

Akropolis books its self-produced concerts in consultation with ensemble members’ calendars. Ensemble members may pursue any additional, non-conflicting work of their choice.

Other duties:

Akropolis’ bassoon, oboe, and bass clarinet chairs are artistic positions and do not have an administrative component. However, the bassoonist is expected to participate in planning meetings such as for programming concerts and adjudicating Akropolis Chamber Music Institute applications, attend 4 annual board meetings, and be available for ad lib discussions throughout the year as required. All ensemble members also serve on Akropolis’ Board of Directors in addition to a number of non-ensemble Board members. 

About Akropolis

Founded in 2009, the Akropolis Reed Quintet is “a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity” (BBC Music Magazine). Their 2025 recording of “Strands” won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Instrumental Composition at the 67th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. Comprising five reed players and entrepreneurs unbounded by limits or categorization, Akropolis has graced the Classical Billboard Charts with each of their last three albums, including #2 in April, 2024, and is described by The Wire as a “collective voice driven by real excitement and a sense of adventure.” Having premiered and commissioned more than 250 works by living artists and composers, they are pioneers and champions of a new genre of classical music—the reed quintet. Originating at the University of Michigan, Akropolis are the only ensemble to ever receive the University's Paul M. Boylan Alumni Award. 

Mission  Akropolis Quintet Inc.’s mission is to create a more vibrant society with greater accessibility to contemporary music through the quintet’s artistic excellence utilized in performances, educational experiences, and community engagement. 

Core Values
Excellence. Personal fulfillment. Innovation.  

Akropolis’ 26/27 Season
This season Akropolis will premiere the first reed quintet by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer HIgdon; give two concerto performances of Uno Momento Dado by Johan de Meij, including with the United States Air Force Band; release their 7th album, A Soulful Nexus by Derrick Skye; give two performances of Are We Dreaming the Same Dream? with Grammy-winning composer/pianist Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman; and will also be joined in concert by Grammy-winning baritone Kenneth Overton and soprano Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond, in addition to premiering a new work by Jessica Meyer at Moab Music Festival in Utah. Concerts include appearances on Oneppo Series at Yale University, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and more. 

Akropolis’ 5 ensemble members participate in the following annual programming: 

• 30-40 touring concerts nationally and internationally

• 30-40 collegiate and K-12 performances/workshops

• A self-produced southeast Michigan festival called Together We Sound including 5-10 concerts for youth, workers, and more

• Akropolis Chamber Music Institute (ACMI), a 8-day summer festival for emerging artists held at Interlochen Center for the Arts

• A residency at Cass, King, and DSA high schools in Detroit including the premiere of 15-25 new works by Detroit high school students 

• ~30 new works premiered each year from luminary composers like Jennifer Higdon to high school youth
  Recordings of albums (7 have been released so far +1 EP) and creating additional audio/video content.

Organization and Nonprofit 
Akropolis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose staff includes its 5 ensemble members who each perform and act as Co-Artistic Directors. Additionally, Deanna Sirkot, full time Operations and Development Manager; a Board of Directors; two teaching artists (associated with high school residency program); and 2-4 interns. Many of Akropolis’ engagements are booked by Ariel Artists, with whom Akropolis has worked since 2013. 

In addition to their artistic roles, saxophonist Matt Landry is Executive Director of the nonprofit organization and Kari Landry is Marketing Manager. The bassoon, oboe, and bass clarinet chairs are artistic positions and do not have an administrative component.

We are in the middle of a 5-year growth strategic plan. We expect the organization budget to increase over the next 3-5 years, facilitating increased compensation and benefits for no or little increase in the ~100 work days. 

More information including Akropolis’ financial transparency, strategic plan, culture and systems handbook, commitment to systemic change, and annual reports, visit https://www.akropolisquintet.org/organization-mission

Job Evaluation
As with all ensemble members, the bassoonist will be peer-evaluated on an ongoing basis and receive continuous feedback on how they are performing at the job, both artistically and interpersonally. Akropolis will hold the bassoonist to the same standards of excellence as every member of the organization, from day 1. Per Akropolis’ Culture and Systems Manual, Akropolis does not hold formal performance evaluations, but uses informal, ongoing feedback to help all members of the organization continually improve. Akropolis has an open meeting policy, allowing anyone in the organization to call a meeting for any topic, for any reason, at any time. Akropolis’ existing, full Culture and Systems Manual can be furnished upon request. 

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Akropolis Quintet, Inc.’scommitment to diversity includes the recognition that our mission is best advanced by contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and culture. Akropolis Quintet, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of any characteristic protected by law, such as race, color, religion, national or regional origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, height, weight, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or other status protected by law.