Nate Helgeson, principal

Bassoonist Nate Helgeson has been principal bassoon with Portland Baroque Orchestra since 2012. Born into a musical family in Eugene, Oregon (his brother, Aaron Helgeson and uncle Stephen Gryc are both accomplished composers), Nate studied modern bassoon with Steve Vacchi and Richard Svoboda before taking up the baroque bassoon, continuing his studies with Dominic Teresi at the Juilliard School. 

He can be heard in period instrument concerts across the country as well as on recordings by Apollo’s Fire, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Pacific MusicWorks, and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra. As a concerto soloist, Nate has appeared with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, and the American Bach Soloists. Beginning in 2018, Nate has performed works of Rossini and Bellini on period instruments as part of Teatro Nuovo, a festival in New York exploring nineteenth century ‘bel canto’ sounds and performance practices on the opera stage. He is on faculty at the Bozeman Symphony Baroque Performance workshop, and was professor of bassoon at the University of Oregon during the 2019/20 school year. 

He lives in Salem, Oregon with his wife, cellist Annabeth Shirley.