I’m new to New York City and looking to network and make new acquaintances. Joining the union seemed like an easy way to make hundreds of new friends and meet new colleagues. I was previously a member of AFM Local 40-543 (Baltimore) and Local 161-710 (Washington D.C.) I would love to be a member of a woodwind quintet focused on outreach. My most favorite recent gig was performing works by African composers as part of my chamber group’s Continents Series. I particularly loved a work called “A Look at Lightening” by Halim El-Dabh. I began my musical studies at five, but it took me about eight years to find the bassoon. I’ve been playing for 20 years this fall. After I finished school I moved to Baltimore, where I taught bassoon and oboe at Morgan State University. I also taught in Washington D.C, at the Levine School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. I enjoy orchestral music but chamber music really is my passion. My goal in life is to be of service to other people. Through a performance I can offer others some comfort or joy, or even just a distraction to take their minds off things. I work in development with a group in Baltimore called Mind on Fire. I am the bassoonist of a chamber group in Pittsburgh called the Incidental Chamber Players. I am also section bassoon in the Colour of Music Festival, which is a traveling group based in Charleston, South Carolina. –Kika Wright, francisca.wright@gmail.com