James Rodgers has held the position of Principal Contrabassoon and Utility Bassoon with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since September of 2001. Former positions include Principal Bassoon with the Jacksonville Symphony, Associate Principal Bassoon with the Florida Orchestra, Second Bassoon with the Houston Symphony, and Contrabassoon with the Colorado Symphony. Summer activities have included the Grand Tetons Music Festival, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Colorado Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute and the Tanglewood Music Center. He holds two degrees in Bassoon Performance and studied bassoon with Norman Herzberg, Benjamin Kamins and Andrew Radford, and contrabassoon with Gregg Henegar.

A founding member of the Pittsburgh Reed Trio, Jim has performed to critical acclaim with PSO colleagues Scott Bell (oboe) and Ron Samuels (clarinet). Their many and varied concerts have been heard locally, nationally, and abroad. An avid early music enthusiast, Jim likes to perform on dulcian whenever possible. As a pioneer of electric/acoustic bassoon and contrabassoon development, Jim is ever creatively exploring the possibilities of his instruments’ capabilities, both in sound and genre. Jim lives in Moon Township, PA with his wife, Sue, a clarinetist and dietitian/diabetes educator, and their four cats: Zankisch, Groggy, Pumpkin, and Jupiter.