About Northwest Clarinet Choir
The Northwest Clarinet Choir was founded in 1990 by Marianne Lacaille under the auspices of Music Center of the Northwest in Seattle, WA. Florie Rothenberg later directed the group, and the current conductor, William Blayney, assumed the directorship in 1997. In 2002, the choir left the Music Center of the Northwest to become an independent community group and rehearsed and performed at the Swedish Cultural Center. In 2004, the group relocated to the Woodland Park United Methodist Church where we rehearsed and performed through the spring of 2014. In the fall of 2014, the group moved its rehearsals and performances back to the newly renovated Music Center of the Northwest. Three of the founding members still play with the group, which has grown to thirteen musicians.
In 2006, the Northwest Clarinet Choir performed at the second annual Buffet-Crampon/Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival, held at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
In 2007, the Northwest Clarinet Choir had the honor of hosting the third annual Buffet-Crampon/Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival in Seattle, Washington.
In the summer of 2014, the Northwest Clarinet Choir was invited to perform as a part of the International Clarinet Association's "ClarinetFest 2014" in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Eleven members of the group made the trip and performed alongside clarinet ensembles and soloists from around the world. Joel Auringer's review of the concert stated that "Northwest (Clarinet Choir) opened the concert with Blayney’s arrangement of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus. Later, the auxiliary instruments were given their heyday in Lucien Cailliet’s Fantasie for Clarinet Choir. The A-flat sopranino clarinet (played by David Gould) and the E-flat clarinet (played by Tami Horiuchi) displayed impressive, flashy technique. The group ended with a rousing arrangement of Johan Halvorsen’s Entry March of the Boyars. As a whole, Northwest displayed themselves wonderfully as a dedicated and entertaining community clarinet choir."
The Northwest Clarinet Choir is one of a small, but increasing number of community-based clarinet choirs in the United States. Members pay dues to defray expenses and permit us to make our concerts free to all. The Northwest Clarinet Choir maintains one of the largest private libraries of clarinet choir music in the United States--a collection that include nearly one hundred original arrangements and several hundred published arrangements.
Northwest Clarinet Choir has players of all ages and backgrounds--students, doctors, teachers, retirees, etc. Membership qualification is determined by the director and by current openings. If you're interested in joining us, please contact us through the link on the "Contact Us" page.
Most of our concerts are at Music Center of the Northwest in North Seattle at 901 N 96th St (N 96th and Linden). For more information on concerts and rehearsals please go to the "Contact Us" page.
Members:
Director: William Blayney
Eb Clarinet: Tami Horiuchi
Bb Clarinet: Pat Takahashi-Blayney
John Petterson
Erika Harder
Kevin Barry
David Landy
Alto Clarinet: Dave Dintenfass
Brad Stevens
Bass Clarinet: Cody Clark
Christa Lagler
Contrabass Clarinet: Xavier Wilkening-Joly
The Northwest Clarinet Choir was founded in 1990 by Marianne Lacaille under the auspices of Music Center of the Northwest in Seattle, WA. Florie Rothenberg later directed the group, and the current conductor, William Blayney, assumed the directorship in 1997. In 2002, the choir left the Music Center of the Northwest to become an independent community group and rehearsed and performed at the Swedish Cultural Center. In 2004, the group relocated to the Woodland Park United Methodist Church where we rehearsed and performed through the spring of 2014. In the fall of 2014, the group moved its rehearsals and performances back to the newly renovated Music Center of the Northwest. Three of the founding members still play with the group, which has grown to thirteen musicians.
In 2006, the Northwest Clarinet Choir performed at the second annual Buffet-Crampon/Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival, held at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
In 2007, the Northwest Clarinet Choir had the honor of hosting the third annual Buffet-Crampon/Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival in Seattle, Washington.
In the summer of 2014, the Northwest Clarinet Choir was invited to perform as a part of the International Clarinet Association's "ClarinetFest 2014" in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Eleven members of the group made the trip and performed alongside clarinet ensembles and soloists from around the world. Joel Auringer's review of the concert stated that "Northwest (Clarinet Choir) opened the concert with Blayney’s arrangement of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus. Later, the auxiliary instruments were given their heyday in Lucien Cailliet’s Fantasie for Clarinet Choir. The A-flat sopranino clarinet (played by David Gould) and the E-flat clarinet (played by Tami Horiuchi) displayed impressive, flashy technique. The group ended with a rousing arrangement of Johan Halvorsen’s Entry March of the Boyars. As a whole, Northwest displayed themselves wonderfully as a dedicated and entertaining community clarinet choir."
The Northwest Clarinet Choir is one of a small, but increasing number of community-based clarinet choirs in the United States. Members pay dues to defray expenses and permit us to make our concerts free to all. The Northwest Clarinet Choir maintains one of the largest private libraries of clarinet choir music in the United States--a collection that include nearly one hundred original arrangements and several hundred published arrangements.
Northwest Clarinet Choir has players of all ages and backgrounds--students, doctors, teachers, retirees, etc. Membership qualification is determined by the director and by current openings. If you're interested in joining us, please contact us through the link on the "Contact Us" page.
Most of our concerts are at Music Center of the Northwest in North Seattle at 901 N 96th St (N 96th and Linden). For more information on concerts and rehearsals please go to the "Contact Us" page.
Members:
Director: William Blayney
Eb Clarinet: Tami Horiuchi
Bb Clarinet: Pat Takahashi-Blayney
John Petterson
Erika Harder
Kevin Barry
David Landy
Alto Clarinet: Dave Dintenfass
Brad Stevens
Bass Clarinet: Cody Clark
Christa Lagler
Contrabass Clarinet: Xavier Wilkening-Joly