Marc Vallon is Associate Professor of bassoon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music since 2004. A native of France, he received his musical education at the Paris Conservatoire. “Enfant prodige”, he began playing professionally at the age of 17, and had the privilege of performing with the Parisian orchestras under legendary conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Karl Boehm. His interests later lead him to work with contemporary music groups culminating in the 1980s in a fascinating period of collaboration with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Marc’s early music career began in 1982 when he joined the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, where he was principal bassoon for 20 years. Marc was also principal bassoon of Philippe Herrewheghe’s “Orchestre des Champs Elysées” for 12 years and has participated in concerts worldwide with early music leading ensembles like Tafelmusik, La Petite Bande, Les Musiciens du Louvre and Concerto Köln. His experience on period instruments ranges from Monteverdi’s “Vespers” (1610) to Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Fawn” (1894). He has been the first early bassoon teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, the Lyon Conservatoire and has given master classes worldwide.