Joshua Elmore.
The San Francisco Symphony has appointed Joshua Elmore as principal bassoon, effective in late March of 2025. In addition, the orchestra appointed Stan Muncy as section percussionist in November of 2024.
Joshua Elmore is currently a member of the Fort Worth Symphony, where he has served as principal bassoon since 2021. At the San Francisco Symphony, he succeeds Stephen Paulson, who was principal bassoon from 1977 to 2024, when he stepped into the associate principal bassoon role for the 2024-25 season. Elmore has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Chineke! Orchestra. In 2022, he was principal bassoon for the Gateways Festival Orchestra, playing at the all-African American orchestra’s Carnegie Hall debut. He performs as principal at the Bellingham Festival of Music each summer. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he performed frequently as principal bassoon with the Juilliard Orchestra. He holds a professional studies certificate from the Colburn School, and has been a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West. As a high school student, he was principal bassoon of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony and a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and toured internationally with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States.
Stan Muncy has served as a frequent extra musician at the San Francisco Symphony since 2010. He was previously a member of the Honolulu Symphony and Santa Rosa Symphony. He has toured with the contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird, participated in the Spoleto Festival and Music Academy of the West, and recorded film and video game scores. A native of California, Muncy earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, East Bay, and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and received a professional studies certificate from the Colburn School. Muncy is currently a faculty member at the SFCM Pre-College and previously taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and California State University, Stanislaus.
