About

Dr. Brisa de Paula is delighted to be the newly appointed second bassoonist and contrabassoonist with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony and continues to serve as second bassoonist with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. In both orchestras, she also performs as substitute principal bassoonist as needed. A sought-after musician, she regularly appears as substitute principal and second bassoonist, as well as substitute contrabassoonist, with various regional orchestras in the Midwest, including the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, she has most recently performed as substitute principal bassoonist with the Orquestra Sinfônica de Santo André in Brazil and as principal bassoonist with Sinfónica Azteca during its 2023 Mexico tour.

An experienced and multifaceted musician, Dr. de Paula performed extensively as second bassoonist and contrabassoonist in Europe, where she was highly regarded for her consistency, artistry, and dedication. She performed regularly with orchestras such as the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, Bremer Philharmoniker, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Münchner Bach Orchester, among others. In 2011, she took time away from Europe to assist the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, the most prestigious orchestra in South America, where she served as acting solo contrabassoonist and second bassoonist. As an avid chamber musician, she had the distinction in 2012 of being invited to participate as a member of the Zermatt Festival–Chamber Music and Academy with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker in Zermatt, Switzerland. During her residency, she performed more than a dozen concerts alongside members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her extensive orchestral and chamber music background, she regularly performs as a recitalist in the United States with her husband, pianist and physician Warren T. Goodman, who is a proud graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa.

As an educator, Dr. de Paula has served as Adjunct Instructor of Bassoon at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, teaching alongside legendary pedagogue William Winstead, as Assistant Adjunct Professor of Bassoon at the University of Northern Iowa, and as Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Western Illinois University. Throughout her teaching career, she has given masterclasses at universities across the Midwest, along with numerous clinics for pre-college students.

She earned a Master's Degree, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Bassoon Performance with an emphasis in musicology from the University of Cincinnati/College-Conservatory of Music, where she was the Bassoon Teaching Assistant. She also holds an Artist Diploma in Bassoon Performance from the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany. She is a 2023 and 2025 Bassoon Fellow of the OAcademy Orchestra Institute, having been awarded two Artist Diplomas with Distinction under the mentorship of Simon van Holen, solo contrabassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Her principal teachers include William Winstead, Gernot Friedrich, and Marc Engelhardt. Her musical training also includes masterclasses with Klaus Thunemann, Georg Klütsch, Helman Jung, Christopher Millard, Daniel Shelley, Gustavo Núñez, and Andrea Cellacchi.