David McGill, the esteemed principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the last 17 years, will resign his post in August to accept a fulltime teaching position at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.

“Teaching has always been a great love of mine, and the rigors of performing have precluded my pursuing this noble profession as much as I would like,” he said in a statement released by the CSO.”I thank Maestro (Riccardo Muti) and the great musicians of this incredible orchestra for 17 years of unforgettable music-making.”

The Tulsa-born McGill, a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, came to the CSO in 1997 from the Cleveland Orchestra, where he had served as principal bassoon since 1988. He previously held principal bassoon posts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Tulsa Philharmonic.

McGill’s next solo appearances with the Chicago Symphony are scheduled for June 12-17, when he will play Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto, with Muti conducting.

McGill is leaving the CSO just about the same time another of the orchestra’s admired woodwind players, principal clarinet Stephen Williamson, is due to return to the ranks. Williamson is nearing the end of a season’s leave during which he’s been playing principal clarinet with the New York Philharmonic.