Sydney Worsham, bassoonist, is an avid performer and teacher currently based in Waco, Texas. Sydney originally wanted to play the flute, but on an instrument try-out day, when she was told to imagine blowing out 20 birthday candles, she decided the bassoon seemed like a more straight-forward option. Thirteen thumb keys and the most finger combinations out of any woodwind instrument would quickly prove her wrong!

Sydney finds great fulfillment in teaching, especially when watching her students grow as both musicians and people. Her students have placed high in region band and area auditions in Texas and have received ample scholarship offers at the college level. Sydney has taught middle and high school bassoon lessons in the Athens, Georgia and Waco, Texas areas, as well as a few masterclasses. Her students describe her as being “very understanding and flexible.”

Performance experiences include community ensembles, such as Band of the Hills based in Austin, Texas, and most recently Sydney has performed with the Waco Symphony Orchestra, a professional ensemble based in Waco, Texas. Music performed with this ensemble include Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3. She has performed in chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, orchestras, operas, and she has been part of ensembles that have featured musicians such as Julian Bliss, Linqua Franqa, and Orli Shaham. 

As a soloist, Sydney has enjoyed a wide array of music from all musical periods and by many composers. Among the repertoire she has performed, Sydney greatly enjoys the many concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, the inspiring pieces of Jenni Brandon, and one of her favorite extended-technique pieces is by her grand-teacher, William “Bill” Winstead.

Looking towards the future, Sydney is interested in researching the effects of music teachers on their students' development in terms of mental health, as well as how students grow based on how they are taught. On the more creative side, Sydney is also looking to start a bassoon reed-related shop on Etsy.

Sydney received her Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of Georgia, studying under Dr. Amy Pollard, and is currently working on the second year of her Master’s degree with Dr. Ann Shoemaker. She is presently the Graduate Associate of Bassoon at Baylor and is in the process of applying for doctoral programs.