Dr. Rachel Frederiksen is the Instructor of Bassoon at the University of Alabama. She also teaches the music management course in addition to the bassoon methods course. Dr. Frederiksen serves as principal bassoon of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and is an active chamber musician in the Capstone Faculty Woodwind and is a founding member of the Raven Duo. Her previous appointment was at the University of Texas at San Antonio as Lecturer of Bassoon as well as a prominent freelance bassoonist in the area.

As an artist, Dr. Frederiksen gave performed her Tour of South America recital at the 2022 International Double Reed Society in Boulder, CO and in San Germán, Puerto Rico at the Puerto Rico Center for Collaborative Piano Festival where she served as a guest artist and faculty member. She also performed the WORLD PREMIERE of the wind band transcription of the Weber Bassoon Concerto in May 2021 with the Heart of Texas Concert Band. Dr. Frederiksen is a collaborator on Ricardo Lorenz’s chamber CD, Open Borders, which was released in December 2020. ‘Tendril Rapture’ was written for oboe, bassoon, and piano as part of a commissioning project that was funded through a grant award from the 2019 MSU Running Start Entrepreneurship Competition.

As a researcher, Dr. Frederiksen is actively investigating the life and works of German composer Emilie Mayer, and actively transcribing her violin sonatas to be performable on bassoon. She also focuses on undergraduate teaching techniques and student learning in higher education in both private bassoon lessons and classroom teaching. While at MSU, Dr. Frederiksen was a part of a team of researchers and artists from the Michigan State University Residential College of Arts and Humanities (RCAH) Fellowship Program. Their project, titled ‘Love the Learner,’ investigates professor/student relationships and their effects on student learning. The preliminary findings show that developing deeper connections with students, having student input on class structure and topics, and having clear personal and work boundaries allow for positive learning environments.

Dr. Frederiksen completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Texas Lutheran University and a Master of Music and Master of Music Education degrees from Baylor University, where she was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Fraternity. When she is not busy teaching, performing, or reed-making, you can find Dr. Frederiksen hanging out with her friends or helping her parents with their many basset hounds and cats in their home in Texas.