New York City-based bassoonist and composer Brad Balliett is gaining a reputation for unusual and thought-provoking programming, performance and composition. The new principal bassoonist of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Brad performs regularly with Metropolis Ensemble, Signal, Decoda, and Ensemble ACJW.  Formerly acting principal of the Hartford Symphony, Brad has also appeared as principal bassoon with the Houston Symphony and American Ballet Theater, and has performed with the New York City Ballet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Anthony Braxton, Zakir Hussain, and Miguel Zenon.  Brad is an alumni of Carnegie Hall’s The Academy, and is a founding member of Decoda, the Deviant Septet, and DZ4. Brad graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 2005, and holds an MM from Rice University. Brad’s compositions have been performed around the country, including recent performances by Decoda, Metropolis Ensemble, Cantori, Genghis Barbie, and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICEtank series). He was composer-in-residence for New York City’s Chelsea Music Festival in 2011, and was a Spotlight Artist in composition at the Lucerne Festival the same year. Brad is a member of the band The Oracle Hysterical, and hosts a weekly new music radio show with his twin brother Doug on WQXR’s Q2, called The Brothers Balliett. As a teaching artist, Brad gives performances and leads songwriting workshops at hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and correctional facilities. Through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program, Brad has given concerts and led workshops with the chamber ensemble Decoda at Beth Abraham Hospital in the Bronx, Jacobi Hospital, New York Presybterian, Valley Lodge Homeless Shelter, and the Fort Washington Men’s Shelter. Through Metropolis Ensemble, Brad has led songwriting projects with the TEAK Foundation, the Reciprocity Foundation and the Special Music School, culminating in performances at le Poisson Rouge. Through Ensemble ACJW, Brad has created and performed in dozens of interactive performances at schools throughout New York City.