Students showcase overlooked woodwind at 20th annual Bassoon Christmas
Bassoons don’t usually take center stage in holiday performances. But young musicians in Highland Park ISD have been using their low-pitched woodwinds to spread Christmas cheer to retirees for the past two decades.
Highland Park middle and high school bassoonists recently joined students from Richardson and Wylie for the 20th annual Bassoon Christmas, which in 2025 was held at The El Dorado-Sky Active Living in Richardson.
A packed room of audience members applauded enthusiastically for the students. Some clapped or sang along to favorites such as “Deck the Halls,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”
Resident Julianna Howard said she’s heard bassoon performances before, but those were nothing like the one from these students
“They’re wonderful! It was great,” she said. “They couldn’t have been better.”
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“To put it mildly, those kids were so uplifted, and they seemed to be excited about what they were doing,” resident Charlotte Holmquest remarked. “And that makes a beautiful difference in how they perform.”
Many young bassoonists arrived at the retirement community wearing holiday sweaters or Santa hats. Before they took the stage, they decorated their long, tubular instruments with tinsel, bells, and ribbons.
“I thought it was super fun. I really liked playing ‘Feliz Navidad,’” said Highland Park High School freshman Vivian Haworth, who was performing at her fourth Bassoon Christmas. “I hope that the tradition continues,” she added.
Bassoon Christmas is a rare gathering of the double reed woodwinds. A typical orchestra has just three or four bassoonists. Those musicians generally play supporting roles, while flutes, clarinets, or saxophones are charged with carrying the melody.
But that’s not the case at Bassoon Christmas, when groups of bassoons — and only bassoons — perform holiday favorites.
Highland Park ISD private bassoon teacher Leslie Massenburg had the idea for the festive event while she was still earning her master’s degree from SMU.
“When you play bassoon in a band, rarely are we heard unless we have some unique solo,” she said. “I wanted to give the beginners a chance to be heard, to let their parents actually hear them, and hear what they have done.”
Bassoon Christmas’ musicians ranged from sixth graders, who had been playing for just a few months, to some of the region’s top high school performers.
Massenburg arrived at the retirement community with a large binder of bassoon arrangements. She has written most of them herself over the years. Sixth graders always play a version of “Jingle Bells” that Massenburg created to help them master their new notes.
“They think they’re just having fun,” she said, “and I have secret teaching purposes.”
Massenburg, who is now a professor at UT Arlington, performs with many different orchestras, and teaches throughout the Dallas area, even managed to continue the Bassoon Christmas tradition during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the shut-down, she recorded holiday performances and sent them to the retirement community, along with cards from her students.
“So much of what we do is a lot of hard work,” Massenburg said. “It’s nice to remember that it’s fun, and that you’re entertaining other people, and that you have the ability to make somebody else’s day a little more fun. They get joy out of what you’re doing, and it’s not just for yourself.”
