Cecilia Kang

Praised for “ethereal colors” and “effortless” clarinet playing (The Clarinet Journal), clarinetist Cecilia Kang celebrates a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, scholar, adjudicator, and curator. She has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral clarinetist, collaborating with members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisiana Philharmonic. In addition to receiving top prizes from the Canadian Music Competition, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Standard Life Competition, and the International Clarinet Association Research Competition, she has also been awarded generous grants from the New Music USA, the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Kingsway Foundation, the Hendrickson Foundation, the Metropolitan Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts to support her artistic pursuits.

Renowned for her innovative teaching approach, Dr. Kang has given over a hundred clarinet master classes around the world including at the Milan Conservatory (Italy), the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków (Poland), National Taiwan University of Arts (Taiwan), Yonsei University (South Korea), Thailand International Clarinet Academy (Thailand), Beijing Central Conservatory of Music (China), the University of Melbourne (Australia), the University of Toronto (Canada), and the University of Michigan (USA). She has presented at the Midwest Clinic, the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic, the College Music Society Conference, and the ClarinetFest. Her scholarship has been published or is forthcoming in the Nineteenth-Century Music Review, the Clarinet Journal, as well as on the Digital Clarinet Academy and the ToneBase online platforms. As an adjudicator, she has served on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, the International Clarinet Association, the Music Teachers National Association, the College Music Society, the Interflow Band Festival of Hong Kong, and the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition.

Dr. Kang is deeply committed to creatively intertwining her musical vocation with community building. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she established the Silver Linings Initiative, for which she organized 25 virtual panel discussions among international clarinetists, music educators, and arts leaders examining the paradigm shifts in the field of Music. In January 2023, she curated the groundbreaking Han and Heung Festival at Louisiana State University, showcasing stories of resilience and optimism shared by the Korean and African-American diasporas by interweaving music with social dialogue

She holds degrees from the University of Michigan (DMA), the University of Southern California (MM), and the University of Toronto (BM). Dr. Kang currently serves as the associate professor of clarinet at Louisiana State University, and an artist faculty at Aria International Academy and Sewanee Music Festival during the summers. She is a Vandoren and Buffet Crampon Performing Artist and Clinician. https://kangcecilia.com