15-year-old bassoonist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Chloe Robertson and pianist Dasha Gabay perform the expressive fourth movement of Johann Friedrich Fasch’s Sonata in C Major for Bassoon. Chloe says that the bassoon isn’t always thought of as a solo instrument, but this lively piece certainly proves otherwise. Who says the bassoon can’t steal the show?
Rockville, Maryland Chloe performs on Show 484.
Chloe Robertson (bassoon), 15, attends Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. Chloe began her music studies at the age of 5 on the violin. She included the bassoon at the age of 11, and continues to study and perform on both instruments. On the bassoon, she currently studies with Dr. Jimmy Ren, and on the violin, Angelia Cho.
Chloe has gathered numerous opportunities on both instruments. On the violin, she won first place in the Junior Division of the Misbin Family Memorial Chamber Music Competition, two first-place awards in the solo and chamber divisions of the YMIC Competition, and recognition in Levine Music’s Cogen Concerto Competition. She was the lead concertmaster for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra Symphony (MCYO) and is currently the concertmaster for the MCYO Chamber Ensemble. She also performed as Principal 2nd Violin for the Maryland All-State Junior Orchestra in 2024.
On bassoon, Chloe recently won first and grand prize in the 2026 Cogen Concerto Competition in Washington, D.C. She has also won first place in the Levine Marlin-Engel Solo Competition, Alternate in the MTNA Woodwind Junior Division, and first place in the YMIC Competition, woodwind category. Chloe was Principal Bassoon for the Maryland All-State Junior Band in 2025 and performs regularly with the DC Youth Orchestra Program (DCYOP). She was selected to participate in the Equity Arc Wind Ensemble, and performed with them on national television in March 2025. Additionally, this past summer, she was a member of the National Youth Orchestra – NYO2 program, joining them on their tour to Scotland.
This is Chloe’s second year in both the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Youth Fellowship Program and the Washington Musical Pathways Initiative. She was recently awarded the 2025 Leonard Bernstein Musicianship Award in Montgomery County.
Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award will allow Chloe to purchase a professional level bassoon that will carry her through college and into the professional field.
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