Ron Samuels
Clarinet
“a highly captivating musical presence”
The Los Angeles Times
“performs skillfully and stylishly with verve and impressive musicianship”
Fanfare
“rare beauty of performance”
American Record Guide
Ron Samuels was appointed 2nd clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra by the eminent conductor Mariss Jansons at the start of the
2001-02 season. Previously, he served as principal clarinetist of the
Toledo Symphony Orchestra for sixteen years and as a guest principal
clarinetist with the Minnesota Orchestra during their 1996-97 season.
A native of San Francisco, Ron has enjoyed a richly varied career as a
symphonic musician, chamber music and concerto soloist, and as a
collegiate professor and master class clinician. He graduated from the
University of Southern California where he studied with Mitchell Lurie
and where he has frequently returned as a guest lecturer. A year after
graduation, he won an audition for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a
post he held for six seasons.
In addition to appearances on chamber music and recital series
throughout the United States, Ron has been a featured soloist with the
Toledo Symphony Orchestra on several occasions, as well as with the San
Diego Symphony, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Eureka (CA)
Symphony and the Plymouth (MI) Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded
contemporary chamber music for Opus One Records, Hearts of Space
Records, and a solo CD for KOCH International Classics featuring an
all-French program and highlighted by the world-premiere recording of
an early 19th-century concerto by Charles Duvernoy. During his years in
Los Angeles, he also participated in soundtrack recordings for the
motion picture and television studios of Universal, Warner Brothers and
Columbia.
Ron has championed the music of several contemporary composers and has
participated in performances, on recordings, and as part of consortiums
of several new-work commissions. Among these have been Anthony
Iannaccone’s Concertante for clarinet and orchestra for which he gave the American premiere; William Albright’s Quintet for clarinet and strings; John Harbison’s Concerto for oboe, clarinet and orchestra; and most recently, David Stock’s Sea of Reeds written for the Pittsburgh Reed Trio, a chamber ensemble which Ron co-founded.
Currently on the faculty of Duquesne University, Ron has been a guest
lecturer at the University of Michigan and the Interlochen Arts
Academy, and he has given master classes at several schools including
the Universities of Southern California, Minnesota, Wisconsin and
Louisville, Central and Eastern Michigan Universities, Bowling Green
State University, California State University at Humboldt and the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
During the summer, Ron performs in the Robert Marcellus-endowed
principal clarinet chair of the Peninsula Music Festival in Fish Creek,
Wisconsin. Ron has also been the principal clarinetist of the Grand
Teton Music Festival, the Colorado Music Festival and the Santa Fe
Opera.
Other musical pursuits have included the publication of articles for
The Clarinet - Journal for the International Clarinet Association and
de Klarinet - Dutch Journal for Clarinetists. In addition, Ron was a
production assistant on clarinetist David Shifrin's Delos recording, A Brahms/Schumann Soirée.
He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Freya, who is a freelance cellist
and Director of Chamber Music at Duquesne University's City Music
Center, and their two children Melanie and Darren.
For more information on Ron Samuels, please visit www.ronsamuelsclarinet.com.