Joshua Elmore | Life After Juilliard

Postcards From Juilliard Alums

It’s been quite a roller coaster since I graduated from Juilliard with my beloved class of 2020 on Zoom from our various bedrooms around the world. Since graduation, I have moved a few times, first to Los Angeles to start my master’s degree at the Colburn School, which was extremely challenging because, by that point, I was so done with Zoom. In May 2021, I won the principal bassoon audition in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra through what was the first professional audition since the pandemic started, and the next month I moved to Fort Worth to embark on my career. Buying my first car, moving to another completely new place, and adjusting to being a professional musician was truly a whirlwind.

Joining the Fort Worth Symphony has been an incredible experience, and I’m extremely grateful. It’s been so rewarding to be performing again for live audiences, especially amid the pandemic. I think that there is a deeper appreciation for live music now because of its absence in our lives for close to two years. During the pandemic, I’ve realized how much of my life I was taking for granted and how lucky I am—and we are—as artists to do something that’s so moving to the people who watch us perform. Life so far since graduation has been nonstop and I can’t wait to see what’s to come in the future!

Joshua Elmore (BM '20, bassoon)