Arno Steyn, a bassoonist and contra bassoonist from Gauteng, joined the CPO in the bassoon section in 2022 and in April 2023 was appointed sub-principal bassoon.
Arno started his musical journey at the age of six with piano lessons and later bassoon lessons with Leslie Bloem at the Pro Arte Alphen Park Academy. He now holds multiple music qualifications including a Performers Licentiate from the University of South Africa, BMus in Performance from the University of Pretoria, a PGDip and MMus in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (RNCM) in the UK and a Doctorate in Music from the University of Pretoria, which he received in 2019.
Arno participated in many youth orchestra programmes, including the South African National Youth Orchestra, Miagi Youth Orchestra, University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra, and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. During his undergraduate studies, teachers included Fanie Jooste and Esther Watkinson. In 2010, Arno moved to England to continue his post-graduate studies at the RNCM where he studied with Simon Durnford (co-principal bassoonist at the BBC Philharmonic) and Bill Anderson (contra bassoonist at the BBC Philharmonic). During his time abroad, Arno participated in multiple public and private masterclasses presented by bassoonists such as Stefano Canuti, Sergio Azzolini and Dag Jensen. His studies abroad were made possible by the RNCM International Scholarship and the Oppenheimer Music Trust Foundation Scholarship.
Arno moved back to South Africa to continue as a freelance musician, chamber musician and lecturer, working at institutions such as the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. He was also a part-time lecturer in bassoon at the University of Pretoria. Arno has performed as ad-hoc member and guest principal to most of the South African professional orchestras including the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic, Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, Free State Symphony Orchestra and the Johannesburg Chamber Orchestra.
