Susan Nigro was labeled “A Veritable Paganini of the Contrabassoon” by Raymond Tuttle, a recordings reviewer for Fanfare Magazine, following the release of one of her earliest CDs. Peter Burwasser, another reviewer for Fanfare, added “Nigro’s verve and virtuosity bring an irresistible charm to the music.” And American Record Guide’s reviewer Ritter summed up with “Susan Nigro’s musicality simply glows.”
Susan is one of the world’s very few contrabassoonists to have made a career of playing recitals, doing solo appearances, and making recordings. She has performed in places such as Salzburg, Montevideo, Rome, and throughout the United States, and also frequently presents master classes. Her quest for solo literature has inspired her to commission and premier more than 4 dozen pieces for the contra – with more compositions still in the works.
Ms. Nigro currently has nine CDs commercially available: The Big Bassoon (1995), Little Tunes for the Big Bassoon (1997), The Two Contras – in collaboration with retired CSO contra player Burl Lane (1999), The Bass Nightingale (2001), New Tunes for the Big Bassoon (2003), Italian Tunes for the Big Bassoon (2005), Original Tunes for the Big Bassoon (2008), Joplin Tunes for the Big Bassoon (2014) – for which she received a Bronze Medal in instrumental solo performance from Global Music Awards in March of 2016, and COOL Tunes for the Big Bassoon (2021). Clips from these discs may be heard on the Recordings page of: www.bigbassoon.com and excerpts from these CDs have been aired on WFMT / WDCB / WNUR / WNIB – in Chicago, WNTI – in New Jersey, and 2MBS-FM in Australia.
A native of the south side of Chicago, Susan received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University, and earned an additional graduate degree from Roosevelt University. She has studied with Burl Lane, Ferdinand Del Negro, Willard Elliot, Wilbur Simpson, and Arnold Jacobs. Her orchestral training took place in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and she received three orchestral fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center – where she was awarded the Henry B. Cabot Prize.
Ms. Nigro has been a long-time regular substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and was a full-time “permanent substitute” with that organization for five seasons, from 2008 to 2013. She previously played with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and continues to do extensive freelancing in the Chicago area. Her current orchestral positions include: the Illinois Philharmonic, the Northwest Indiana Symphony, the New Philharmonic of DuPage, the Southwest Michigan Orchestra, and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic.
Susan won a Pro Musicis Career Development Grant, received an honorable mention in the Rome Festival Competition, and was granted the Leonardo da Vinci Award in 2007 by the Order Sons of Italy in America. She is a founding member of the Chicago Bassoon Quartet, “The Two Contras” duo, and the ContraBand ensemble. In 2022, she was awarded Honorary Membership status in the International Double Reed Society. Sue holds memberships in thirteen high-IQ societies, and resides with two beloved Sicilian hounds – Miss Marple and Ugo.