“The theme for this recital is community. My community at UNC – my students are a big part of that, and that’s why I always try to feature them when I can, I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Dr. Jessica Kunttu, professor of bassoon at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her alma mater where she was part of the inaugural class of Kenan Scholars, will present her first faculty recital this Friday evening.
Dr. Kunttu’s upcoming recital features a diverse mix of works, ranging from 18th-century French compositions by Michel Corette to contemporary music by Allen Anderson, emeritus professor of music. Dr. Kunttu noted one of her main reasons for performing this recital is to honor and showcase her students. She demonstrates care and compassion as a teacher, mentor, and friend, and is dedicated to developing a new generation of musicians.
We caught up with Dr. Kunttu to learn more about the recital, and her enthusiasm showed through in every response. Read on to learn more about her recital and what drives her teaching and performance.
Now that you’ve been a professor at UNC for about two years, how have your undergraduate studies here at Carolina shaped the person you are today?
I’ve always been grateful for my time as a student at UNC. The people I met as a student made me a more open-minded person, and that has undoubtedly helped me navigate the world post-school, both professionally and as a human being.
You’re having a recital soon! How are you feeling about your performance? What has been the most challenging part of preparing for this recital, and what has been a highlight?
So. Many. Notes! A week before a big performance like this, I start to ask myself things like, why did I choose this repertoire for myself…? Do I have to play so many high notes? No really though, the most challenging part of preparing for this recital has been managing my practice time alongside my busy teaching and orchestral performance schedules. The highlight of preparing for this recital has been the people I get to work with. I’m premiering a solo bassoon piece by retired UNC professor Allen Anderson, so I’ve had a couple of rehearsals with him digging into the piece. It is such a luxury to get to work directly with a composer, and I’m honored he trusts me to present his work. For this recital, I’m performing with four of my UNC bassoon students as well as the incomparable Ināra Zandmane, a pianist from UNCG, and those collaborations have been very rewarding.
Some of the composers featured in your recital are Michel Corette, Allen Anderson, Seong Ae Kim, Lili Boulanger, and Libby Larsen. Is there a piece that particularly resonates with you, and why? Can you talk about the imagery, headspaces, or mindsets you associate with one or more of these pieces?
I could write many pages to answer this question, but I’ll keep it to the two most personal ones.
First I will say that the theme for this recital is community. My community at UNC – my students are a big part of that, and that’s why I always try to feature them when I can, I wouldn’t be here without them. Also, my larger bassoon community – my transcriptions of Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps, Nocturne, and Cortège will be published later this year for all bassoonists to enjoy, and Libby Larsen’s Concert Piece was commissioned by the International Double Reed Society itself, so that means a lot of professional bassoonists worked to get this piece into existence!
The piece that inspired this performance is Jhaladequoise by Allen Anderson. Professor Anderson was my theory and composition teacher during my undergraduate at UNC, and he taught me a lot about how to listen to and approach music, things I still think about today when teaching and practicing. When he told me he had finished writing a solo bassoon piece for me in 2024, I knew I wanted to premiere it at UNC, so I built a recital program around it.
Gravity-Levity by Seong Ae Kim is a deeply personal piece for solo bassoon. I premiered this piece at the International Double Reed Society convention in 2022, and this will be the second performance. The image Seong Ae used to first describe this piece to me is that of a large tree – for every small upward growth that we see above ground, there is a strong downward growth in the complex root system. This is portrayed in the piece with quarter-tones (in between half steps) and strong downward pulls. It’s not about one competing against the other, but rather the coexistence of each. More personally, the two forces in this work represent joy and grief, two subjects Seong Ae and I have bonded over in our friendship.
What is your favorite aspect of teaching at UNC, and what is one thing you want each of your students to take away from your classes?
My favorite aspect of teaching at UNC is my students! I want each of my students to walk away from their classes with me feeling confident and capable. Studying music can be very personal, and while it’s easy to obsess over the physical aspects of playing an instrument, like technique and, for wind players, breathing, the mental and emotional aspects are just as important. I want my students to believe in their abilities to overcome any challenge they face. Studying music teaches us that we all fail sometimes, but we can always try again.
Do you have a name for your bassoon? If so, what is it and why (if you’d like to share)?
I do not have a name for my bassoon. I’m notoriously indecisive when it comes to naming things. I had a pet fish as a kid and I named it “Mr. Fish.” However, my dog is named Osmo, which means energetic young man in Finnish, so I think that’s a really good name.
Interview by Jacob Bandy ’25