Sacramento, CA

Franklin Cohen, retired principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas who was my music director at both the New World Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. There is not a single chamber coaching or clarinet lesson where I don’t draw upon their wisdom and experience. 

Hiking, birding, and generally being outdoors! Time with family and walking my dogs in the City - especially in Golden Gate Park and Glen Canyon.

I love the Glen Gould recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations for the fluidity, pacing, direction, and what he says with each variation. It is really profound. I also have a special affection for the MTT/SFS Mahler cycle. The interpretations and performances are epic, intimate, soaring, and dramatic. 

"Remain musical..."

"How do you double tongue on the clarinet?"

This should no longer be considered an extended technique, but simply a technique that can be learned and refined with patience over time. It is always a work in progress as are many areas of clarinet technique. 

Attending Marlboro Music in Vermont was quite transformative. Being immersed those summers in the chamber music repertoire with the musicians I was fortunately enough to play with made me think about music in such a deeper way. There was a monastic quality to the experience that can be difficult to find these days. 

Probably something in the biological sciences like zoology, botany, or ecology. 

Fundamentals to me are the most important element of my daily practice. If I spend part of each practice session focusing things like breath support, physical alignment, tone, reeds, scales and etudes, I enter the portal to greater ease and personal expression. 

In trying to answer this question, I keep changing my mind…so it’s impossible to answer this!

A personal history was hearing the Cleveland Orchestra live for the first time in Cleveland, OH in 1987 playing Beethoven 6 with Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting, but I suppose Fin-de-Siècle Paris would have been a great match if I could travel back in time.

Interacting with the hardworking and creative SFCM students! Playing in the woodwind section of the San Francisco Symphony of course. More recently, helping to create and build the SFCM Bass Clarinet Summer Intensive Program with my friends Jeff Anderle, Jonathan Russell (both SFCM graduates) and Stefanie Gardner. 

I can't decide who to list...it is and has been a privilege to teach them all!

Quartet for the End of Time with the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble - Avie Records 
New World Jazz with MTT and the New World Symphony - RCA/BMG
The Mahler Project, SFS Media
Adams: Harmonielehre, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, SFS Media
Adams: Absolute Jest & Grand Pianola Music, SFS Media
San Francisco Premieres, Chamber Music Partnership
SFS Recordings since 2012 on all classical music streaming platforms. 

I love the spontaneity that comes from live performance. There are so many moving parts that go into the live concert experience: performer, stage manager, colleagues, audience, staff, location, to name a few. It really is a testament to this need we as humans have to come together and experience this art form. I value and love the spontaneity!