In 2016, Vincent Karamanov was appointed to the contrabassoon/bassoon position with the St. Louis Symphony by music director David Robertson. Prior to his appointment in St. Louis, he served as acting principal bassoon, assistant principal/second bassoon, and utility bassoon/contrabassoon with the Grand Rapids Symphony. He was also principal bassoon of the West Michigan Symphony from 2009 to 2015. Vincent has appeared as soloist with the West Michigan Symphony in Mozart's Bassoon Concerto and Sinfonia concertante (for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn). He has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Vincent studied at Ball State University, the Cleveland Institute of Music and Michigan State University. His primary teachers were Dr. Keith Sweger, John Clouser (principal bassoon with The Cleveland Orchestra) and Michael Kroth. He also studied contrabassoon with Jonathan Sherwin (The Cleveland Orchestra). While in high school, Vincent studied with Kenneth Pasmanick who was principal bassoon with the National Symphony Orchestra. Vincent performs on Pasmanick's instrument which was originally commissioned from Heckel in 1952 by the principal bassoon of the Teatro alla Scalla Orchestra, Enzo Mucetti. Vincent lives in St. Louis with his wife Kelly who is a collaborative pianist and teacher. In his spare time, he enjoys paddle-boarding, surfing and listening to LP records.