A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Alexis Cerise is a New York City based bassoonist, freelancer, and educator. Holding degrees from The Juilliard School and the University of Kentucky, Alexis has a broad range of experience and skills that help bring her love of music-making and bassoon-ing to as many people as possible.

An accomplished performer, Alexis placed second at the 2025 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition, and was the winner of both the 2023 UK Orchestra Concerto Competition and inaugural 2023 UK Wind Symphony Concerto Competition. Recognized for her potential, she was a 2025 recipient of Juilliard’s Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant, “demonstrating outstanding artistry and achievement in leadership, entrepreneurship, and breadth of engagement.” She was also the 2023 recipient of UK’s Ralph McCracken Scholarship - Winds, Percussion, Jazz Division, “given in recognition of outstanding achievement in the winds, percussion, and jazz division”.

Passionate about engagement and education, Alexis was a Morse Teaching Artist Fellow and the Music Advancement Program Bassoon Fellow for 2 years. Through Morse, Alexis worked with professional music educators in classrooms in New York City, learning how to instruct in a classroom setting, and supporting music education in the classroom. Through the Music Advancement Program, Alexis was a mentor to both bassoon and non-bassoon students, playing in student chamber groups, observing and teaching studio classes and private lessons, and playing with the bassoon section in ensembles. Alexis is also an experienced private lesson teacher, having taught around 20 students in the greater Lexington area, with students participating in programs such as the Kentucky Music Educator’s Association honors ensembles, the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras, with former students having gone on to study music in college.

In addition to her performing and teaching, Alexis is also invested in music scholarship. While at the University of Kentucky, Alexis studied 20th century music theory privately with Dr. Jennifer Campbell, and presented her independent research, titled, Tania León’s entre nos: The Art of Underlying Musical Structure, at the 2022 UK Showcase of Undergraduate Research, and the 2023 National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Alexis was selected as the 2023 UK Ralph McCracken Scholarship in Music Theory, “given in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of music theory.”

As an artist, Alexis’s goal is to instill a love of music in her students and audiences alike, with the mission of making classical music accessible to everyone.