Wells is Assistant Professor of Bassoon in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, where he also teaches courses in music history. Previously, he taught for a dozen years at California State University, Sacramento. He is active as a music scholar, having presented papers at the conferences of the American Musicological Society, the Society for American Music, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, and the International Double Reed Society. Wells also serves as one of the Co-Executive Directors of Meg Quigley, an organization devoted to making the bassoon world more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and supportive. When not playing or teaching, he can be found swimming (with the Kelp Krawlers when in Carmel), taking photographs, collecting records, and trying to keep up with his super-librarian/yogi wife, Veronica.