July 21st, 2025: Review in the Sydney Morning Herald:
“American bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward scaled the heights and depths of Liza Lim’s Axis Mundi with breathtaking dexterity […] Roidl-Ward’s dazzling technique shone again in Victor Arul’s Barrelled Space, a relatively lengthy and complex ensemble piece that began life as a solo bassoon work.”
- Tony Way
Review of “Axis Mundi,” a program with ELISION Ensemble featuring Liza Lim’s solo bassoon work alongside world premieres by Victor Arul and Charlie Sdraulig and works by Julio Estrada, John Rodgers, and Brenda Gifford.
Photo by Lauren Murphy
January 20th, 2023: Ben Roidl-Ward was named one of the Washington Post’s “23 for ‘23: Composers and performers to watch this year.”
“[Ben] just released his debut solo album, “Axis Mundi: New Works for Bassoon,” featuring performances of diverse works by Liza Lim, Luis Fernando Amaya, Tania León, Mathew Arrellin, Tom Kelly and José-Luis Hurtado that share intense physicality and presence through Roidl-Ward’s attentive performance.”
- Michael Andor Brodeur, The Washington Post
Read the full article HERE.
Photo by Deidre Huckabay
Ben Roidl-Ward is the bassoonist of Ensemble Dal Niente, principal bassoonist of the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Illinois Symphony, and Co-Principal Bassoonist of Sinfonia Da Camera. He serves as Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and as a Bassoon Coach for the Lucerne Festival Academy.
December 2nd, 2022: “Axis Mundi: New Works for Bassoon” was named among Bandcamp Daily’s “Best Contemporary Classical on Bandcamp: November 2022.”
“Chicago bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward has served as a formidable advocate for his instrument’s role in experimental music, and on his first album, he cements that work with a challenging program that definitely pushes the boundaries of his famously rheumy double reed.”
- Peter Margasak, Bandcamp Daily