A passionate advocate for the bassoon, Amy Harman is a highly sought-after artist as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher, and communicator.
Amy was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music from 2013 to 2024, and offers masterclasses and training sessions internationally. In 2024, she was appointed professor of bassoon at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, becoming the first woman to hold such a position in Germany.
At just 23 years old, Amy was appointed principal bassoon of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Highly sought after as guest principal bassoon by leading European orchestras—including Paavo Järvi’s Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra—she is currently principal bassoon of the Aurora Orchestra. She was selected by YCAT in 2014.
Her solo performances include the premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s Concerto for Bassoon and String Orchestra with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Strauss’s Concertino with the English Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Concerto at the Suoni dal Golfo Festival in Lerici, and her participation as a “flying” soloist in the world premiere of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht. Amy was the first bassoonist to give a solo recital broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. She regularly performs recitals in the United Kingdom and Germany with her collaborator Tom Poster. She has participated in international festivals such as Pärnu, Spoleto USA, Aldeburgh, Tbilisi, West Cork, Ryedale, Bath Mozartfest, and Mizmorim, and frequently attends IMS Prussia Cove.
Several composers have written works for her, including Olav Berg, Héloïse Werner, Brian Elias, Roxanna Panufnik, Robin Holloway, and Simon Holt.
Chamber music occupies a central place in Amy’s artistic career. She was a member of Ensemble 360 for ten years and performs regularly with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, an ensemble associated with Wigmore Hall since 2020. She is also a member of the Orsino Wind Quintet, founded by Adam Walker, and makes recordings for the Chandos label.