Session 1 Faculty & Guest Presenters

We've invited premiere pedagogues, craftspeople and industry pros to create the content for an exciting and immersive experience. Meet the faculty and special guests of the Digital Clarinet Academy! 

Faculty Biographies

Jackie Glazier

Hailed for her “robust playing and virtuosic performance” (San Diego Tribune) and “beautiful and clear tone” (The Clarinet Magazine), Jackie Glazier is an active soloist, chamber musician, orchestral clarinetist, pedagogue, and advocate of new music. As assistant professor of clarinet at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music, Glazier is a committed pedagogue and mentor to future generations of clarinetists, and a member of the Arizona Wind Quintet. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed throughout the United States and in China, Mexico, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Croatia, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

As a soloist and a founding member of the saxophone / clarinet ensemble Duo Entre-Nous, Glazier is active in commissioning and performing new music. She has commissioned over 20 pieces with composers from the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Argentina, China, and Australia. As a soloist and chamber musician, Glazier has recorded for Naxos, Toccata Classics, Mark Records, and Navona Records. Her debut solo album, “Magic Forest Scenes” will be released in Summer 2020 on Centaur Records. She is also active as an orchestral musician, performing as principal, second, and eb clarinet with orchestras such as the Tucson Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, and the Grammy-nominated True Concord Voices Orchestra. Glazier has earned degrees from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Florida, and Florida State University. She is an artist with Buffet-Crampon and Vandoren, and performs exclusively on Buffet-Crampon clarinets and Vandoren reeds.

Richie Hawley

Richie Hawley ranks as one of the most distinguished clarinetists of his generation. As principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he impressed audiences around the world with his virtuosity and the velvety, sonorous tone that has become his trademark. The Cincinnati Enquirer has praised him for the “seamless flowing tone so many clarinetists long for and few can achieve.” 

In 2011, Mr. Hawley left the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and moved to Houston, Texas to become the Professor of Clarinet at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Mr. Hawley appears on stages around the world regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and recitalist. During the summer months he is in residence as the clarinet teaching and performing artist for 8 weeks at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, one of the premiere summer festivals for exceptionally talented musicians. Mr. Hawley made his debut at the Marlboro Music Festival in 1999 and toured with the legendary “Musicians from Marlboro” for the 50th anniversary performance at Carnegie Hall.

Originally from Los Angeles, Mr. Hawley began his clarinet studies with Yehuda Gilad at the Colburn School of Performing Arts at age 9. He made his orchestral solo debut at age 13 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and at age 14 performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. While a student of Donald Montanaro at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Hawley appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

As a D’Addario performing artist, Mr. Hawley performs exclusively on reeds and mouthpieces that he helped to develop. He is also an artist for Buffet Crampon and performs on the Tosca model of clarinet.

www.richiehawley.com

Jeff O'Flynn

Jeff O'Flynn enjoys a diverse musical career as a performer and educator. He is the woodwind area coordinator and assistant professor of clarinet at Utah Valley University. He was also the 2020 Utah Clarinet Festival artistic director.

Dr. O’Flynn served as principal clarinet with the Queen City Opera. He has appeared with ensembles such as the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, the Cincinnati Symphony/Cincinnati Opera, and the Richmond Symphony. He performed as soloist with the UVU Wind Symphony, the UVU Symphony Orchestra, the Wasatch Chorale, and toured the Midwest playing Artie Shaw’s Concerto. 

He has given featured artist recitals at the Hebei International Clarinet Festival (China), the Taller de Clarinete at UNAM (Mexico), and the University of Southern Mississippi Clarinet Day. As a chamber collaborator, he has appeared at Adams State University, the University of Arizona, the Las Vegas Clarinet Day, and the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest. He performs regularly with a variety of UVU faculty chamber ensembles including a percussion/clarinet duo, a violin-clarinet-piano trio, a wind quintet, and a clarinet-cello-piano trio as part of the Alpine Chamber Ensembles. 

Dr. O’Flynn is in demand for clinic and masterclass presentations, often in conjunction with his performance schedule. His students have established professional careers in orchestras, bands, classrooms, composition/arranging, and music production.

Dr. O’Flynn is currently president-elect of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the College Music Society. He holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (DMA), Florida State University (MM), and Wichita State University (BM).

Ralph Skiano

Ralph Skiano currently serves as Principal Clarinetist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra after serving in the same position in the Cincinnati Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, and the Des Moines Metro Opera. He has also appeared as guest principal clarinetist of the Seattle Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. Critics have praised him for his solo and orchestral performances, describing him as having “wisdom beyond his years” and the ability to bring “the audience closer to the stage, transforming the performance into more of an intimate storytelling” - Huffington Post.

Mr. Skiano has served on the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and at the schools of music at James Madison University and the College of William and Mary. An active presenter and clinician, he continues to present masterclasses and workshops at universities all across the United States, and will be a visiting Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at Oakland University in the fall.

 ​As a Buffet Group and Vandoren Artist, Ralph Skiano performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets and Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces.

Tiffany Valvo

A vibrant performer and teacher, Tiffany Valvo is currently the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Virginia Commonwealth University. Tiffany has been a lecturer of music at both Nazareth College and Syracuse University, and has performed at the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony. Fueled by teaching and learning, Tiffany has presented on pedagogy at many international conferences with organizations including the International College Music Society, International Clarinet Association, and American Single Reed Summit. Tiffany holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Masters degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelors Degree from Florida State University, with additional studies at the Trossingen Hochschule für Musik with Israeli clarinetist Chen Halevi. 

Guest Biographies

Ixi Chen

Ixi Chen is the Second Clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and enjoys a versatile and active career as an orchestral player, chamber musician, artistic director, educator and coach. Following her studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California, Ms. Chen was appointed by Maestro Paavo Järvi to the position of Second Clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2002. In 2004, she joined the woodwind faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and in 2006, founded the chamber ensemble concert:nova whose fusion of traditional and contemporary elements seeks to cultivate a new audience for music and deeper understanding.

Ms. Chen's commitment to diverse experiences has taken her around the globe. She has performed in music festivals such as the Munich ARD, Aspen, Tanglewood, Evian, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Jerusalem, Thessoloniki, Saint Petersburg, Mexico City UNAM and the Beijing International Clarinet Festival. Media broadcast features include ZDF (German television), NordDeutsche Rundfunk (NDR; North German Radio), SudDeutsche Rundfunk (SDR; South German Radio), KUSC Los Angeles, KQED San Francisco, and WGUC Cincinnati.

Ms.Chen has trained with Rosario Mazzeo, Gary Gray, David Krakauer, Ricardo Morales, Wolfgang Meyer and Yehuda Gilad. An active presenter and clinician, she presents masterclasses and workshops at universities across the US and abroad. Ms. Chen performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets and D'Addario reeds.

Brian Corbin

We founded B. Corbin Clarinet Products to serve our musical community, offering custom craftsmanship and expertise to students and professionals alike. We manufacture and distribute some of the finest hand-crafted clarinet products in the world, many of which are original designs. As a husband and wife team, we have traveled to universities, clinics, festivals, and conferences establishing lasting relationships with students and professionals. 

Dr. Lilly Haley is a clarinetist in the Navy Pacific Fleet Band. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from the University of New Hampshire, a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Indiana University, and a Doctor of Music in Clarinet Performance and Literature from Florida State University.

Brian Corbin holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Indiana University and a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Florida State University. His primary teachers include Howard Klug, Deborah Bish, and Jonathan Holden. Brian has performed with the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Ocala Symphony Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, Villages Philharmonic Orchestra, and Albany (GA) Symphony Orchestra.

Jason Denner

Born in San Diego, California Jason Denner has performed throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia as an orchestra and chamber musician. Currently working as a freelance musician living in Berlin, he has performed with orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Mannheimer Philharmoniker, Baltic Youth Philharmonic and others. Before studying in Europe he was the Bass Clarinetist for the Evansville, Indiana Philharmonic, where he performed frequently with the Owensboro Symphony and Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra. He has worked with leading international conductors including Neeme, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi, Radic Sculz, Johannes Wildner, Neil Gittleman, Steven Sloane and Erich Kunzel.

Beyond his work as an orchestral musician, he is focused on pursuing the possibilities of chamber music through his Woodwind Quintet “The French American Winds” as well as other chamber formations.Together with the Ponte Trio he was a finalist in the Deutsche Hochschulenwettbewerb and toured Brazil in 2009, and in 2010 was awarded, with the French American Winds, first prize in the Svirel International Competition in Stanjel, Slovenia.

Jason has studied began his studies at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Ronald de Kant, Steven Cohen, Ronald Aufmann and Richie Hawley and continued at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Wolfgang Meyer.

In concert he “impresses … with masterful playing and great perfection” according to the Badische Neuste Nachrichten.

He has taught at the University of Cincinnati as adjunct faculty for Improvisation as well as at the Musikschule Offenburg and the Forum Musicum Ettlingen.

Dominic Giardino

Driven by a pursuit to reconcile his deep interests in history and music, clarinetist Dominic Giardino has been exploring the world of historical performance since the age of 14. After completing his B.M. in clarinet performance at the Eastman School of Music, Dominic moved to the Netherlands in 2016 as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to study historical clarinets under the guidance of Eric Hoeprich at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, completing his M.M. in 2018. He has been heard with ensembles such as Grand Harmonie, Capricornus Consort Basel, the Arcadia Players, Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble Harmonie, in which he travelled to Europe in 2016 as a part of the ensemble’s premiere European tour. He has also recorded two CD’s with Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band, chronicling rarely heard masterpieces of America’s 19th century band repertoire. Balancing a career in performance, research, and arts administration, Dominic currently lives in Williamsburg, Virginia where he is employed as a musician and historical interpreter by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and also serves as the Operations Manager of Three Notch’d Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble. Dominic’s principal clarinet teachers include Kenneth Grant, Jon Manasse, and Eric Hoeprich.

Ben Haeuser

Ben Haeuser is Musician Quality Control Supervisor at the D’Addario Woodwinds factory in Los Angeles, California. His team of musicians monitor and play test reed and mouthpiece products every day to ensure only the best possible reeds make it into the box for Reserve, Select Jazz, Royal, La Voz and Rico brand reeds. He was design lead for the Reserve Evolution mouthpiece, as well as the Reserve Bass Clarinet and Reserve Eb Clarinet reed development projects.

Ben is an active freelance clarinetist and sits on the board or directors of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra. He holds advanced degrees in music from California State University, Long Beach and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers are Richie Hawley, Ixi Chen, Michael Grego, and Virginia Wright.

Lee Livengood

Lee Livengood is currently clarinetist and bass clarinetist in the Utah Symphony Orchestra and a Past-President of the International Clarinet Association. He also performs regularly at the Grand Tetons Music Festival. His teachers include Stanley Hasty, Mitchell Lurie, Michael Webster, and George Silfies. He has been a member of the Savannah Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Fresno Philharmonic, and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. In addition to his work as a performer, Lee is well known as a clarinet mouthpiece maker and restorer, with clients around the world. When not performing in the Utah Symphony or making mouthpieces, Lee enjoys time in the outdoors with his wife and two sons, drinking great coffee, and playing the electric bass.

Melanie Wong

Melanie Wong is an independent clarinet repair technician specializing in all manner of clarinet repair and customization, including comprehensive overhauls, tuning and voicing work, crack repair, and keywork alteration. She is in high demand by leading clarinetists around the world, and her regular clientele include players from the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the London, San Francisco and Houston Symphonies, and the American Ballet Theatre, as well as celebrated soloists, Broadway and studio musicians, and professors and students from the country’s top music schools.

As the apprentice of legendary technician Mark Jacobi, Melanie studied the art of clarinet repair for three years in Philadelphia before serving as the resident technician at the Buffet Crampon New York Showroom, a post she held for five years. Now based in Los Angeles, she currently works from the West Coast’s leading woodwind dealer, RDG Woodwinds. Prior to beginning her journey in repair, Melanie earned degrees in clarinet performance from New York University and Arizona State University under the tutelage of renowned pedagogues Larry Guy and Robert Spring.