Biography

Paula Brusky is the founding director of the Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition, Inc. (BCMCC), an adjunct Assistant Professor at St Norbert College in Wisconsin, an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and a Research Affiliate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music-University of Sydney. Brusky was the first candidate awarded a PhD in Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music after winning the Endeavor International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (the largest merit scholarship available to international students in Australia). Brusky’s dissertation included the most comprehensive study to date of injuries in bassoon players and her subsequent research into injury prevention for musicians has made her a sought after guest lecturer.  Some of the places she has presented include the International Double Reed Society 2010 conference, the Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Michigan, Lawrence University, and Eastern Kentucky University. In addition to research, while in Australia Brusky performed extensively as principal bassoon with the Sydney Chamber Orchestra and freelanced with numerous ensembles including Colleguim Musicum Choir, Sydney Philharmonic Choir and Symphony Australia. Her first CD, featuring winning works from the 2010 BCMCC, was released on MSR Classics in May 2011. Previously Brusky received a Master of Music from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music, cum laude, from Northwestern University.