Program

Marc Mellits: Splinter (2014)
Derrick Skye: A Soulful Nexus (2023)
Ryan Lindveit: Venus of Willendorf (2024)
Jeff Scott: Homage to Paradise Valley (2019)

Andy Hudson, Guest Clarinetist

Performances by Andy Hudson have been hailed as “a treat for the listener” (IAWM Journal) and have been praised for “an uncommon singularity of purpose, technical virtuosity, youthful vigor and a mature sensitivity” (The Clarinet). An “inspiring” (MMR) and “fearless” (Cacophony) performer, he has performed widely across North America, Europe, and Africa in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings in some of the world’s great venues. Praised for his “measured sophistication and expansive phrasing” (Voix des Artes), Andy has been a top prizewinner at the MTNA National Woodwind Competition and has received other prizes in numerous competitions. He has recently performed with the Atlanta, Charlotte, Sarasota, and North Carolina symphonies, and was appointed Bass/3rd Clarinetist of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in 2020; other festival appearances include the Lucerne, Bang on a Can, Hot Air, Sound Atlas, and Great Lakes Chamber Music festivals. 

“Truly a performer for the moment” (CVNC) with an “irrepressible musicality” (The Clarinet), Andy is a noted interpreter of contemporary music and has premiered 200+ works to date. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on their MusicNOW series and is clarinetist/bass clarinetist with Miami’s Nu Deco Ensemble and the Raleigh-based ensemble  earspace. He is Artistic Director and clarinetist with the international sextet Latitude 49, with whom he can be heard on the albums The Bagatelles Project, Wax and Wire (called “a must-have album for any lover of contemporary music” by The College Music Symposium), Don’t Say A Word, and Obsolete Music. His debut solo album halfway home released in 2022 on Potenza Music (called “exceptional” by The Clarinet) and his two books on contemporary pedagogy, Elements of Contemporary Clarinet Technique and SPACE BASS: Advanced Explorations for Bass Clarinet, are co-authored with Roger Zare for Conway Publications.

Andy joined the faculty of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music as Associate Professor of Clarinet in the Fall of 2023, and has given guest masterclasses at many of them world’s great centers for musical study, including conservatories and universities in Romania, South Korea, Egypt, Canada, and across the United States. Previously, he taught at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where he was a nominee for the James Y. Joyner Award for Teaching Excellence and the NC State Chair for the International Clarinet Association. Andy is an Artist-Clinician for Buffet Crampon, a Vandoren Performing Artist, and an Ambassador for Rovner Products; he holds degrees from Northwestern University (DMA, MMus) and the Schwob School of Music (BMus). When he’s not practicing, you are likely to find him cycling, trail running, reading, or listening to baseball on the radio.