Dr. Rebecca Hagen Watson serves as the Chair, Department of Music Education and Assistant Professor of Double Reeds at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, and holds the position of Second Bassoon of the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Washington, DC and bassoonist and contrabassoonist with the Britt Festival Arts Orchestra in Oregon. She is bassoon instructor at the Master Works Festival and the Bassoon Specialist at Hodge Products, Inc.
Dr. Watson received her B.M. in Bassoon Performance from the University of Minnesota, studying with John Miller and Norbert Nielubowski. As a finalist for the New World Symphony, she was invited to participate in the European Mozart Academy which offered an opportunity to travel throughout Europe, study with internationally recognized artists, and perform for people in war-torn areas, Heads of State, and music audiences in many countries.
She then moved to Germany and graduated with her Masters degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule, Düsseldorf, studying with Gustavo Núñez, Principal Bassoon of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam. She won the position of Bassoonist and Contrabassoonist with the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, and performed there for 8 seasons. During her tenure as Bassoonist and Contrabassoonist with the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern in Germany, she also had the opportunity to perform, broadcast, record, and tour with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Südwest Rundfunk Kaiserslautern, the Saarländische Rundfunk Orchester, the Mainzer Stadttheater, and others. Concurrently, she studied with Marc Engelhardt, Professor of Bassoon at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart.
After returning to the States, Rebecca Watson completed her Doctorate at the University of Arizona, studying bassoon performance with Dr. William Dietz. She concurrently studied oboe with Dr. Sara Fraker, Professor of Oboe at the U of AZ, and oboist with the Tucson Symphony.
Dr. Watson has performed with the National Symphony, the Houston Ballet, the San Antonio Symphony, the Britt Festival Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Baltimore Concert Artists, and many other ensembles. She formerly taught bassoon at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Washington Adventist University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. She attended the European Mozart Academy, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the MMCK Festival in Japan.
Dr. Watson frequently performs recitals and masterclasses across the country, and has been a featured soloist on live and recorded broadcasts of Arizona Public Radio.