Ari Allal is a freelance bassoonist and educator in high demand throughout the Washington, D.C. area and is co-owner of Aria Double Reeds LLC. While living in Michigan, he served as principal bassoonist of the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Canton and performed with numerous ensembles, including the Toledo Symphony, Windsor Symphony, and Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra. Since returning to the D.C. area, Ari has been an Artist in Residence at the Music Center at Strathmore, where he presented solo recitals and masterclasses. He has also performed with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, including Wagner’s Siegfried with Washington National Opera, and regularly appears with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Washington Opera Society, L’Opéra Comique de Washington, and Concert Artists of Baltimore.

Ari has participated in several internationally recognized festivals, including the National Orchestral Institute, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Internationally, he served as principal bassoonist for Opéra du Périgord’s productions of Offenbach’s La Périchole and La Vie Parisienne in France.

An active educator, Ari teaches privately and has served as a sectional clinician for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra and Detroit Civic Youth Orchestra. His students have earned principal chairs in MCYO and received full-tuition scholarships from prestigious universities. Ari holds a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Jeffrey Lyman, and Bachelor’s degrees in music performance and music education from the University of Maryland, where he studied with Sue Heineman. He has served as Director of Bands at Winston Churchill High School since 2012.