3. TIE: University of Southern California & the Colburn School – Los Angeles, CA
Notable Faculty: Yehuda Gilad
Yehuda Gilad hosts what may be considered the most sought-after clarinet studios in the entire country, as his students have advanced to the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony, among many other high-level orchestras and ensembles. Equally at home in conducting, Yehuda Gilad is something of an innovative educator in utilizing, according to the Los Angeles Philharmonic website’s biography of him, “total musicianship.” Gilad is a very selective instructor – the students that come to study with him, especially at the graduate level, are usually just a small percentage of the total applicants to his studio.
An incredibly thorough and passionate teacher, below is an example of Yehuda Gilad teaching:
2. The Juilliard School – New York, NY
Notable Faculty (Juilliard): Ricardo Morales, Anthony McGill, Charles Neidich, Alan Kay
Featuring a clarinetist many consider to be the most technically supreme in the world at his instrument, Ricardo Morales leads an impressive faculty of many of the top clarinet teachers in the country. Ricardo Morales, principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2003, is also a principal figurehead behind Artistworks, an online portal providing lessons to aspiring music students, where you can sign up for a membership that will give you access to hundreds of music lessons and videos. Check this video out for an example of his teaching.
Other teachers at Juilliard, including McGill, Neidich, and Kay, are also supreme musicians who share their time among Juilliard, MSM, and other top schools and professional activities.
Listen to the Faculty: Check out Charles Neidich playing on Mozart’s Clarinet & String Quintets
1. Manhattan School of Music – New York, NY
Notable Faculty: David Krakauer, Mark Nuccio, Anthony McGill, Charles Neidich, Alan Kay
The Manhattan School of Music may just feature the most impressive and diverse faculties for clarinet of any schools in any country. Acclaimed modern chamber musician and klezmer artist David Krakauer, New York Philharmonic associate principal Mark Nuccio, soloist and pedagogue Charles Neidich, and clarinetist Anthony McGill, who was featured in a John Williams work celebrating President Obama’s 2008 inauguration, lead student bodies of active professional New York City musicians. Clarinet students of MSM have advanced to virtually every top position a woodwind artist can earn a living in, and admission to the studios at these schools is considered an achievement only the most highly competitive, creative, and artistic may garner.
Listen to the Faculty: Check out David Krakauer on the critically acclaimed avant-garde klezmer album Pruflas.