Susan Durnin’s extremely diverse taste in music genres is reflected in her wide range of solo repertoire, ensembles and musical adaptability. With works ranging from Vivaldi to Gubaidulina, her recitals consistently explore the history and possibilities of the bassoon. In 2006 she premiered Basusan a piece for unaccompanied bassoon written for her by Heidi Ugrin. In 2012, she explored the world of electronics when performing Draconids by Joshua Keeling, at the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, and she has commissioned a work for electric bassoon by Adam Vidiskis.
Ms. Durnin is a founding member of the bassoon quartet DFM, whose eclectic repertoire consists of music from the Beatles to Blue Oyster Cult, and Rhianna to the Ramones. An avid chamber musician, she has performed in numerous ensembles ranging from trios to octets. She was Director of Programming and co-founder of the chamber music collective Excelsior Ensemble. In 2007 she was selected to participate in the Burgos Chamber Music Festival in Spain.
Since moving to Toronto, Ms. Durnin has performed in many ensembles including The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, The Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, The Niagara Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonietta, Summerhill Orchestra, North Bay Symphony, and Georgian Bay Symphony Orchestra. A former member of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Ms. Durnin was heard playing principal bassoon in the CBC broadcast of the Grand Opening of The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall (2009).
Ms. Durnin completed her Artist Diploma in Orchestral Studies (2010) at The Glenn Gould School. She has a Bachelor Degree in Music Performance from the University of Manitoba (2007). Susan has studied with bassoonists Jim Ewen, Allen Harrington, Kathleen McLean, and Nadina Mackie Jackson.
December 2022