A passionate advocate for the bassoon, Amy Harman is much sought after as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and communicator. Described by The Arts Desk as “a bassoonist in a million”, her playing has been praised by The Times for its “irresistible zest” and “supreme eloquence”.

Amy made her BBC Proms concerto debut at the Royal Albert Hall in 2026, giving the premiere of Thea Musgrave’s Out of the Darkness and performing Elgar’s Romance with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Other solo highlights include the premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s concerto for bassoon and string orchestra with Royal Northern Sinfonia, as well as concerto appearances with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and at Festival Suoni dal Golfo in Lerici, and recent tours throughout Germany with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn. In 2012 she performed from a trapeze as a flying soloist in the world premiere of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht.

In 2024 Amy was appointed Professor of Bassoon at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, becoming the first woman to hold such a position in Germany. Amy was Professor of Bassoon at the Royal Academy of Music from 2013 to 2024 and gives masterclasses and coaches internationally

At the age of 23, Amy was appointed Solo Bassoon of the Philharmonia Orchestra. She has since been sought after as guest principal with leading European orchestras, including Paavo Järvi’s Estonian Festival Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and is currently Principal Bassoon of Aurora Orchestra. She was selected as a YCAT Artist in 2014.

Amy was the first bassoonist to give a live-broadcast solo recital on BBC Radio 3. She performs regularly in recital in the UK and Germany with her long-standing collaborator, pianist Tom Poster. Their album The Bassoonist’s Songbook for Chandos debuted in the Top 10 of the classical charts.

She has appeared at festivals internationally, including Pärnu, Spoleto Festival USA, Aldeburgh, Tbilisi, West Cork, Ryedale, Bath Mozartfest and Mizmorim, and regularly attends IMS Prussia Cove.

A committed champion of new music, Amy has had works written for her by Thea Musgrave, Olav Berg, Heloïse Werner, Brian Elias, Roxanna Panufnik, Gary Carpenter, Robin Holloway and Simon Holt.

Chamber music is at the heart of Amy’s performing life. She was a member of Ensemble 360 for ten years and appears regularly with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Wigmore Hall Artists in Association. She is also a member of the Orsino Ensemble, founded by flautist Adam Walker, and records for Chandos.