Chicago Symphony Orchestra Names Miles Maner as New Contrabassoon/Bassoon

Music Director Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announce the appointment of Miles Maner as the CSO's new contrabassoon/bassoon, effective July 29, 2013. Maner joins the CSO having served as associate principal bassoon/contrabassoon of the Kansas City Symphony since 2010. He also serves as principal bassoon at the Breckenridge Music Festival in Colorado, a post he has held since 2010.

Prior to joining the Kansas City Symphony, Maner served as principal bassoon in the Victoria (TX) Symphony. He has performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Austin Symphony and Lyric Opera and Baton Rouge Symphony, and he has participated in the Pacific Music Festival, Tanglewood Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, International Festival-Institute at Round Top, and the Texas Music Festival.

Maner received his Bachelor's degree at the University of Texas, and his Master's at Rice University, where he performed Weber's Bassoon Concerto with the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra in 2008, as winner of the Shepherd School Concerto Competition.

A musical force in Chicago and around the world, the CSO has been consistently hailed as one of the finest international orchestras since its founding in 1891. Riccardo Muti, one of the world's most celebrated maestros, began his tenure as the 10th music director of the CSO in 2010, and the eminent composer-conductor Pierre Boulez continues his service as Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus. Deborah F. Rutter has served as president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) since 2003. In collaboration with internationally renowned conductors and guest artists, the CSO performs well more than 150 concerts each year at its home, Symphony Center, and in summer residency at the Ravinia Festival. Music lovers around the world enjoy the sounds of the Orchestra through the acclaimed CSO Radio broadcast series; best-selling recordings on the in-house record label, CSO Resound; and sold-out tour performances in the U.S. and other countries. Since 1971, the CSO has undertaken 39 international tours, most recently visiting Asia in January 2013. The CSOA also engages many people beyond those who attend concerts or enjoy recordings. Through the CSOA'sCitizen Musician Initiative and the many other programs of the CSOA's Institute for Learning, Access and Training, more than 200,000 children, teens, and adults - from Greater Chicago and around the globe -- experience the transformative power of music. For more information, visit CSO.org.