Christine Breeden is a Chicago-based bassoonist and contrabassoonist active in performance, education, administration, and advocacy. She currently teaches virtual lessons while freelancing throughout Illinois and Michigan, appearing with the Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee Valley, Knox-Galesburg, and Dexter Symphony Orchestras, among others.

Christine holds a Master’s in Bassoon Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance where she studied with Dr. Jeff Lyman, and her Bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the teaching of Timothy McGovern.  During her collegiate career, Christine was recognized for her collaborative spirit, regularly performing with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band, as well as the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band.  She also performed many contemporary works with the Illinois Modern Ensemble and Michigan’s Contemporary Directions Ensemble.  Her dedication earned accolades such as the UIUC School of Music Woodwind Achievement Award and the Mark Hindsley Band Award.

As a soloist, Christine won the 2021 Thomas J. Smith Solo Competition at Illinois with her performance of Weber’s Concerto in F major, Op. 75.  She was also a featured soloist on Dai Fujikura’s Mina, performing with the University of Michigan Philharmonia Orchestra.  In 2022, she was honored to perform during the wreath-laying at the 2022 Pulse Nightclub Memorial in Bloomington, Illinois.

Chamber music is a pillar of Christine’s artistic engagement, with over a decade of robust wind quintet experience. Most recently, she co-founded \newline, a quartet composed of bassoon, saxophone, piano, and percussion, with a mission to expand the chamber canon and challenge traditional instrumentation.  \newline was awarded the 2023 Arts@Michigan Arts and Resistance Student Mini-Grant to fund their project titled “Our Trace,” which commissioned, presented, and recorded student compositions that told stories of personal experiences with climate change.   

Christine began bassoon in seventh grade, studying with Michael Dicker at Illinois State University.  She is a two-time alum of the International Youth Symphony Orchestra at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where she performed as Principal on masterworks including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in communities throughout France, Germany, and Luxembourg.  She was also the Principal 2nd Bassoon of the Illinois All-State Honors Orchestra in 2016 and 2017.

Christine’s festival appearances include the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival as well as Chicago Summer Opera.  Passionate about arts advocacy, Christine works to promote diversity in composer representation and amplify underrepresented perspectives.  She has also partnered with the Arts Administrators of Color Network in the past to develop professional resources that promote antiracism in the workplace and support greater diversity in administrative roles.  She believes in transforming the field of classical music by acknowledging its histories, demonstrating accountability, and contributing to an equitable, inclusive art form that serves its communities.

Aside from bassoon, Christine also holds a minor in Spanish, and she enjoys exploring the intersections between arts, culture, education, and society.