Bassoonist Avery Dabe sought to broaden access to Heckel bassoons with the launch
of Heckeldex in 2021. Since then, the database has collected information on over
600 instruments and gained worldwide recognition among bassoonists.
The continued success of Heckeldex would not be possible without,
• Information and concept from Mike Frederick's original Heckel bassoon gallery
• Serial number history from Heckel and from Edith Reiter’s book
• Startup help and design from Camden Spehl and Drew Dabe
• Funding from studies with Michael Harley
• Inspiration from Ken Potsic, James Kopp, and James Burton's Eastman dissertation on graphing the bassoon bore
Avery is a former student of George Sakakeeny at the Eastman School of Music. He was second bassoon of the New Mexico Philharmonic, and performed with the Utah Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Opera Southwest, and Santa Fe Pro Musica during his time in the Southwest. He now performs regularly with the Charleston Symphony and studies bassoon maintenance in his spare time.