Lewis ‘Lew’ Lipnick joined the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington DC, in 1970, only two years after receiving his Bachelor of Music Degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Four years later, Lipnick was named principal contrabassoonist, a position he has held to this day. In 1979, Lipnick was soloist in the world première of Gunther Schuller’s Contrabassoon Concerto, which was commissioned for him by the National Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the orchestra’s music director, Mstislav Rostropovich. He also performed the European and New York premières of this work in 1981 and 1982. Lew Lipnick teaches the bassoon at the George Washington University in Washington DC where he currently resides with his actress-wife, Lynn-Jane Foreman, and two much loved cats, Sasha and Misha. He also operates an audio/video and acoustical consulting firm, LipnickDesign, that specializes in high end home theatre, music system and live musical performance space design.
