David Sogg

Co-Principal Bassoon

David Sogg joined the PSO as Co-Principal Bassoon in 1989. Raised in San Jose, California, he started his bassoon studies with Jerry Dagg of the San Francisco Opera .A graduate of Harvard College with a major in German literature, David studied with the Boston Symphony’s Sherman Walt, then with Günter Piesk of the Berlin Philharmonic, and finally with Norman Herzberg to receive a Master of Music from the University of Southern California. After two summer fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, he began his professional career.

Before joining the PSO, David served as Principal Bassoon of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Omaha Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared on numerous occasions with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was a founding member of the summer Brightstar Music Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a frequent performer with the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Project. A proponent of the performance of contemporary music, he has performed contemporary American, Chinese, French, and Russian pieces, including “Andy Warhol Sez,” a piece written for him by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec. Opera and chamber music composer Susan Kander recently wrote “The Lunch Counter” for his solo performance. David has performed recitals and concerti in Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tallahassee, and the Seattle area, as well as at Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music where he is a member of the performance faculty, and at conferences of the International Double Reed Society. David has given master classes in Boston, San Jose, and the People’s Republic of China, and has attracted students from around the US, and from Bulgaria and Venezuela. With his wife, Lisa Parker, a philosopher who teaches bioethics at the University of Pittsburgh, David enjoys Pittsburgh’s many theater, opera, and chamber music performances. Each summer he plans a long-distance bicycle tour, including his 2008 ride from Missoula, MT, to Anchorage, AK.

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