top of page
Violet Stars

Contrabassoonist / Bassoonist

Being a freelance musician, I get to play some pretty exciting and unique music!  I’m so grateful for all of the incredible music I’ve gotten to be a part of and the amazing musicians I’ve met along the way.  Freelancing isn’t always easy, but it sure can be exhilarating getting to participate in so many different musical genres.  I’ve gotten to play in festivals all around the world including my favorites, The Assisi Performing Arts Festival in Italy, the Haydn Music Festival in Vienna and the Oregon Coast Music Festival in Coos Bay.  I’ve played on pop albums and emo albums and some classical albums too.  Some of my favorite shows to play were The Legend of Zelda, the Opera Tosca, and the Dracula ballet.  And, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to be a part of the orchestra for concert shows with incredible artists including Andrea Bocelli, Boyz II Men, and Weird Al Yankovic!  I enjoy playing all genres, but have to admit, the unique, out-of-the-box gigs are favorites.  You can hear some samples of my contrabassoon and bassoon playing in the player below. 

I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
By John Rox
Featuring Nicole Buetti - ContrabassoonJohn Ohnstad - Contrabass Trombone & Big Horn Brass
Violet Stars

Songwriter

I started out songwriting for an emo band called In A World… I had never written songs before and really wanted to incorporate orchestral elements and orchestration into the songs.  A few years later I crossed over into composing songs for kids, which I love!  The Nirks® puppets were born as a way to help promote the songs on youtube.  One of the songs called “Meet the Planets,” became incredibly popular on youtube.  Finding my niche, learning songs about space, I’ve enjoyed creating several educational song series featuring the Nirks characters.  Below is a sampling of some of my songs from In A World... and The Nirks®.

bottom of page