Contact
Departments
Bassoon
Education
Bachelor of Music - The Juilliard School (Kovner Fellow)
Professional Studies Certificate: The Colburn School
Courses Taught
Bassoon Private Lessons
Bassoon Studio Class
Ensembles
San Francisco Symphony - Principal Bassoon
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Cleveland, (Shaker Heights) Ohio
What is your favorite recording?
MusicAeterna - Tchaikovsky Symphony 6 — One of the most heart wrenching and beautiful interpretations I have ever heard.
What are you passionate about outside of music?
Plants! I have over 50 house plants that I nurture and care for.
Who were your major teachers?
Barrick Stees
Judith LeClair
Richard Beene
What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?
“Consistency beats talent when talent isn’t consistent”
What was a turning point in your career?
Performing with NYO-USA in High school. Those summers were a huge turning point for me. I met some of lifelong friends there and made some of the most beautiful music.
What is your daily practice routine?
2 hours on reeds, about 2 hours practicing and an hour of fundamentals. I always like to end my sessions with something I find fun to always connect with why I love music and why I am doing this with my life.
If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
Beethoven, Poulenc, and Rameau
What do you think makes a concert experience unique?
The audience feeling an unparalleled energy and feeling like they are a vital part of the experience.
Biography
Joshua Elmore will join SFCM with a studio of students in 2026. Elmore is also Principal Bassoon of the San Francisco Symphony, a position he has held since March of 2025. Before his appointment, he served as Principal Bassoon of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and has performed with leading ensembles including the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Chineke! Orchestra.
In 2022, he was principal bassoonist for the Gateways Festival Orchestra’s historic Carnegie Hall debut—the first performance there by an all-African American orchestra. He has also appeared as a fellow with the Tanglewood Music Center and the Music Academy of the West, and can be heard on a Grammy-nominated recording with the National Orchestra Institute.
A graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a Kovner Fellow studying with Judith LeClair. He later completed a professional studies certificate at the Colburn School under Richard Beene. His early training began in Cleveland, where he studied with Mark DeMio and Barrick Stees and served as principal bassoon of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony. Outside of music, he enjoys cultivating his plant collection and spending time in nature.