April 2026 – This year, Montreal-born bassoonist Michael Quigley made history as the first ever Canadian to qualify for and compete at The Muri Competition, an international competition for bassoonists and oboists based in Muri, Switzerland. In this fifth edition of the competition, Quigley has progressed to the second round and will compete for a spot at the semifinals.
More than 300 oboists and bassoonists from all over the world applied for The Muri Competition 2026. The preliminary jury listened to each recording anonymously and decided by the end of December 2025 which musicians to invite to the competition in Muri. Quigley was among the maximum of 50 participants chosen per instrument.
Quigley started playing bassoon in high school. In 2016, he began an undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, studying with Eric Hall, principal bassoon of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. He then transferred to the University of Toronto in 2018 to continue his studies with Hall. In 2023, Quigley completed his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he studied with William Short, principal bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He is currently a bassoon fellow at the Miami-based New World Symphony orchestra.
Moving forward in the competition, Quigley will perform at 16:40 local time Tuesday, April 14th to determine if he progresses to the semifinals. The selected works for this round are Antonio Torriani’s Divertimento, Clara Schumann’s Op. 22 and Daniel Schnyder’s Sonata.
To learn more about the competition, visit www.the-muri-competition.ch/en
