Faculty Profile for Daris W Hale

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Daris Hale is a musician with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and is a founding member/bassoonist/choreographer with the Wild Basin Winds quintet and the Texas State University faculty touring ensemble, Trio 488. When she is not challenging classical music traditions and symphonic dress codes, she loves teaching music and humanities to students at Texas State University. Some of her professional musical exploits include performing symphonies in Austria, quintets in Argentina, operas in Italy, trios in Chile, and most rewardingly while on her Fulbright, African songs in Tanzania. Daris enjoys championing the new works of composers by producing concerts and recording albums featuring their compositions. Many of these new pieces have been released on itunes and Spotify.

In Tanzania, Daris was able to collaborate with East African composers from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to write the music of their ethnic traditions for American classical musicians in order to produce the world premieres in the composers’ homeland. Daris also helped envision, and now currently consultants for, the Cultural Arts Centre at Tumaini University Makumira. In the United States, Daris is a music contractor for film and TV shows such as the Emmy Award winning, PBS music education series, The Biscuit Brothers. Her bassoon performances can be heard on numerous steaming services, albums, soundtracks, commercials, television, and approximately 85+ live concerts per year. She has two insanely adorable kids and a loving husband—all of whom agreed to follow her to Africa as long as she promised to follow them home.

Teaching Interests

International Student Engagement, Fine Arts and Communication Study Abroad to London and Paris

Research Interests

International Residencies, International Collaborative Recordings, Commissioning new works, Global music.