Jerome Simas

Jerome Simas headshot

Contact

Office 501

Departments

Clarinet
Woodwind Chamber Music
Coaching and Excerpts

Courses Taught

Applied Lessons, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet

Chamber Music

Studio Class

Auditions and Orchestral Excerpts

Education

MM, Cleveland Institute of Music

BM, Cleveland Institute of Music

Ensembles

San Francisco Symphony, 2012–Present, Bass Clarinet and Clarinet

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Solo Clarinet

Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra

Awards and Distinctions

Fellow, New World Symphony

First Prize, International Clarinet Society Young Artist Competition

Grand Prize, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition

Cleveland Institute of Music Alumni Achievement Award

Simas can make it sing, make it beg, make it roll over and have it serenade you. His phrasing, subtle dynamics and inherent expressiveness are memorable, as he has shown in many other types of repertory and ensembles.”

— ArtsSF.com

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Sacramento, CA

Who was your major teacher?

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. 

What are you passionate about outside of music?

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

What is your favorite recording?

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. 

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

"Remain musical..."

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

"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. 

What was a turning point in your career?

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. 

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

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

What is your daily practice routine?

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. 

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

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

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you?

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.

 

What are your most important collaborations?

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. 

Who are three students you have had the privilege of teaching?

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

What recordings can we hear you on?

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. 

What do you think makes the concert experience unique?

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! 

Media

Jerome Simas joined the San Francisco Symphony as bass clarinet in 2012. Prior to that, he was principal clarinet with the California Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and IRIS Orchestra. He has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, and Naples (Florida) Philharmonic.

Mr. Simas is a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and performs frequently with the Sierra Chamber Society, the SF Symphony chamber music series, and with faculty colleagues at SFCM. He won grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, first prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, and first prize at the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition, and participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and Tanglewood Music Center. Previously a fellow at the New World Symphony, he is featured in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto on the New World Symphony’s RCA Victor Red Seal recording New World Jazz with Michael Tilson Thomas.

A dedicated music educator, Mr. Simas is professor of clarinet and chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a coach with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. He previously taught at the University of Oregon, Stanford University, and UC Davis. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet Franklin Cohen.