Based in Chattanooga, TN, Dr. Staci A. Spring leads a versatile career as a professional bassoonist, educator, and arts advocate. As a freelance musician, her performances include numerous solo and collaborative projects in addition to frequent appearances on bassoon and contrabassoon with the Knoxville Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Rome Symphony, LaGrange Symphony, Chattanooga Bach Choir, and Opera Tennessee. In demand as a bassoon pedagogue, she maintains a private bassoon studio in addition to faculty positions at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Lee University, Chattanooga State Community College, Southern Adventist University and the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. She is the director of the Scenic City Bassoon Ensemble, a group she founded for bassoonists of all ages and skill levels to perform in community settings while raising funds for charitable organizations. Other current professional activities include facilitating arts-integration classroom residencies as a UTC-Wolf Trap teaching artist. 

Previous experience includes a decade of performing and teaching in Texas, and work in arts administration as the Education & Community Engagement Manager for the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. Spring has participated in numerous conferences and workshops related to bassoon performance/pedagogy and to the emergent field of teaching artistry. She holds a D.M.A. in Bassoon Performance and a Graduate Academic Certificate in Arts Leadership from the University of North Texas, dual M.M. degrees in Bassoon Performance and Historical Musicology from the Florida State University, and a B.A. in Music from Brevard College.