TCO Audio Reviews: November 2023 Wind in the Reeds. University of Florida Clarinet Ensemble, Mitchell Estrin, music director and conductor. G. Rossini: “Overture” to The Barber of Seville. P. Richards: A Butterfly Coughs in Africa. G. Holst: First Suite in E♭ for Military Band, op. 28/1. P. Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry. G. Jacobs: Wind in the Reeds. M. Ravel: Pavane pour une infante defunte. B. Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances. G. Frescobaldi; Toccata. J.P. Sain: A Brief View of Eternity. G. Holst: “Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity” from The Planets.  J. P. Sousa: The Stars and ..read more

Photo by Valerie Booth ICA Composer of the Month: October 2023 – SHULAMIT RAN Interviewed by Thomas Piercy Shulamit Ran’s music has been praised as “gloriously human”; “compelling not only for its white-hot emotional content but for its intelligence and compositional clarity”; and “she has written with the same sense of humanity found in Mozart’s most profound opera arias or Mahler’s searching symphonies.” Shulamit began composing songs to Hebrew poetry at the age of seven in her native Israel. By nine she was studying composition and piano with some of Israel’s most noted musicians, and wit ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. In Memoriam: Richard Shanley Richard Adrian Shanley, DMA, passed away on March 16, 2023. He was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 2, 1939, to parents John Joseph (Jack) and Helen Carlson Shanley. With the family’s ties in Washington state, they soon moved back to Bremerton to establish their home. Richard graduated from West High School in Bremerton and Olympic Junior College in 1957. During those years he played on the tennis team and began to develop the passi ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. Audio Reviews September 2023 Aspire. Seunghee Lee, clarinet; JP Jofre, bandoneon; Steven Beck, piano; London Symphony Orchestra, Enrico Fagone, conductor. JP Jofre: Primavera; Double Concerto for clarinet, bandoneon, and orchestra; Como el Agua; Sweet Dreams; Taranguino; JP Jofre/arr. M. Hazama: Tangodromo: A. Piazzolla/arr. JP Jofre: Tango Étude No. 3 for clarinet and orchestra; H. Villa-Lobos/arr. S. Lee: “Aria (Cantilena)” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Musica Solis ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. Book and Music Reviews September 2023 Books Paul Harris. The Clarinet: The Ultimate Companion to Clarinet Playing. Faber Music Ltd, 2022. £25.00 Paul Harris is quite a well-known name in the clarinet world. He is a distinguished British clarinetist and award-winning author of so many publications—over 600!—and is one of the most respected music teachers and educators. He has given master classes and seminars all over the world. His most recent notable work is a 232-page co ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. The Jazz Scene by Samantha Wright  The Early Clarinetists of the Duke Ellington Orchestra “The Washingtonians,” “The Kentucky Club Orchestra,” “The Cotton Club Orchestra,” “The Jungle Band”—these were all names for what we refer to today as the “Duke Ellington Orchestra.” Quite like the ensemble’s name, the music and style of this famous band took many exciting twists and turns throughout its 50-year run, reflective of the changing times in history, the progression of ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. Reprints from Early Years of The Clarinet: Pedagogy This special reprint section explores the teaching of Daniel Bonade, Simeon Bellison, Ralph McLane, Kalmen Opperman, Leon Russianoff, and others. These excerpts from articles and interviews are followed by commentary from some of today’s ICA country chairs about clarinet pedagogical traditions throughout the world. coordinated by Rachel Yoder and Caitlin Beare The Bonade Legacy, Part II Jerry Pierce, one of the last of Da ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. ICA Low Clarinet Festival 2023 This report from the Low Clarinet Festival in Glendale, Arizona, offers a look at the ICA’s inaugural festival for low clarinets. by Stefanie Gardner Approximately 275 alto, basset horn, bass, contra-alto and contrabass clarinetists from all over the globe gathered at the very first ICA Low Clarinet Festival January 5-8, 2023 at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona. Artistic Director Stefanie Gardner was assisted by members of the ..read more

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members.   ClarinetFest® 2024 Dublin, Ireland Tá gach clairinéadóir nascatha — Every clarinetist is connected Céad míle fáilte—welcome—to ClarinetFest® 2024 in Dublin, July 31 – August 4, 2024. ClarinetFest® will revisit Europe for the first time since 2018, and the venue will be the Convention Centre Dublin in Ireland, in the Docklands overlooking the River Liffey. The Artistic Leadership Team of Jason Alder, Peter Cigleris, and Sarah Watts, alongside a team of helpers and t ..read more

TCO Audio Reviews: August/September 2023 Psycho.  Julian Bliss, clarinet; Tippett Quartet: John Mills, violin; Jeremy Isaac, violin; Julia O’Riordan, viola; Bozidar Vukotic, cello. B. Herrmann: Echoes; Souvenirs de Voyage; Psycho Suite. Signum Classics, SIGCD234. Total Time: 56:59. In their 2011 album, Psycho, the Tippett Quartet presents three works by composer Bernard Herrmann. Known for his film scores, Herrmann was incredibly versatile; he also achieved success in conducting and composing concert pieces. Per Neil Sinyard’s liner notes, Herrmann “downplays melody in favour of small mu ..read more