Jake Thonis made his solo debut with the Boston Symphony in 2013. He is currently the Principal Bassoon of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and he has performed as guest Principal Bassoon with the Charleston, Chicago, Houston and Winnipeg Symphonies as well as the Florida Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic. Jake was acting Principal Bassoon of the Winnipeg Symphony during the 2025-2026 season. He was acting Principal Bassoon of the Florida Orchestra for the 2024-2025 season, previously serving as acting Associate Principal for 3 seasons. He has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Sarasota, Colorado Music Festival and Grant Park Orchestras, the Nashville and Hawaii Symphonies, and he was previously a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He has worked with notable conductors such as Pablo Heras-Casado, Cristian Măcelaru, Joana Mallwitz, Neville Marriner, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Daniel Raiskin.
An avid chamber musician, Jake has been an artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2025. He is performing with ChamberFest Cleveland in 2027, and has performed at Music@Menlo and Tippet Rise Art Center. Jake was an artist-participant at the Marlboro Music Festival from 2021 to 2022. He has also played with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society as part of the Gamut Bach Ensemble.
Jake began his studies with Janet Underhill in his hometown of Wellesley, Massachusetts, going on to study with Richard Beene, Benjamin Kamins, and Daniel Matsukawa at the Colburn School, Rice University, and the Curtis Institute of Music, respectively.
