Dr. David A. Wells enjoys both exploring the richness of the bassoon’s past and forging new paths for the instrument’s future. He specializes in historically-informed performance on 17th-20th century period bassoons, playing regularly with ensembles such as the Carmel Bach Festival, American Bach Soloists, Sinfonia Spirituosa, and Philharmonie Austin. He is also adept on the modern bassoon and contrabassoon, equally at home with standard orchestral/chamber/solo repertoire and demanding modern works involving extended techniques or electronics. In addition, Wells relishes taking the bassoon to unexpected places, most notably having spent nine years with a Django Reinhardt-inspired swing sextet. Wells is Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where he also teaches music history. He serves as Co-Executive Director of Meg Quigley, an organization devoted to making the bassoon world more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and supportive.