Maintenance, Repair, Customization
Keith Bowen Bassoon Workshop is now located in Port Townsend WA at 1227 43rd Street, 98368.
ABOUT KEITH BOWEN
Growing up in Portales, New Mexico with a father who taught woodwinds at the local university, my world was filled with music. Bassoon became my instrument of choice; I received performance degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Georgia and the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music which provided my training for orchestral playing.
My background in science and my skills in carpentry allowed me to pursue bassoon repair work during my college days and as a young professional I had the honor of John Miller serving as my teacher and mentor. In the early 1990s, Alan Fox recruited me as a special projects employee at Fox Products which allowed me to learn the intricacies of bassoon manufacturing.
I opened my own bassoon repair workshop in South Bend, Indiana, then moved my operations to Seattle for the next 20 years. In 2019, I relocated my shop to Port Townsend, WA on the Olympic Peninsula where I welcome you today.
I have enjoyed playing positions in the Florida West Coast Symphony, the South Bend Symphony, the North West Indiana Symphony and I continue to perform today.
CLIENT RAVES
SEATTLE TIMES, June 24, 2002
By Marc Ramirez, Seattle Times staff reporter
Local master of bassoon repair
among best in world
Keith Bowen is the guy to call when you need your bocal socket replaced. If you'd like a thumb whisper key spatula, your tenons restrung, your tone holes refinished, look no further.
One of a handful of accomplished bassoon repair and restoration people in the world, Bowen doesn't mind telling you that his work is not the type to raise his heart rate or send his blood boiling. In fact, he'll point out that the latest edition of the Jobs Rated Almanac ranks "musical-instrument repair" as the least stressful job around.
"On stage, your ego is being attacked on a moment-to-moment basis," he says. "But my ego is rarely attacked here in my basement." While he still performs from time to time, Bowen's pluck and precision at the workbench are what have elevated his name among bassoonists; his artistry is such that he is booked a year in advance. read more