Keith Lipson

Keith Lipson, clarinetist, educator, conductor, and literary translator, currently serves as Music Director of the Daoxiang Lake Orchestra Academy at Tsinghua High School and conductor of the Beijing International Chamber Symphony Orchestra. He previously held positions as a professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Qingdao, guest professor of chamber music at the Affiliated High School of the Central Conservatory of Music, principal clarinetist of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and guest conductor of the Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to an intellectual family, Keith Lipson later moved to Malibu, California. He began studying clarinet at age eight under Yehuda Gilad, a distinguished professor at the Colburn School and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. By age 14, Lipson was performing clarinet concertos with professional symphony orchestras, including works by Copland, Weber (three concertos), and Mozart’s A Major Concerto. At 16, he won first place in the International Clarinet Association Solo Competition and was admitted to the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music, becoming the youngest clarinet student in its history. While at Curtis, he served as principal clarinetist of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra for two years, collaborating with numerous world-class conductors. During this time, he also minored in philosophy and literature at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution. Lipson has held principal clarinet positions with orchestras such as the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, the KBS Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, and the Knights Orchestra in New York. He also performed in a series of chamber music concerts with members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble at Barge Music in New York.

Lipson joined the International Contemporary Ensemble in New York and performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Together with other musicians in Beijing, he co-founded the Beijing New Music Ensemble, which collaborated with Naxos to release its debut album featuring new Chinese contemporary music works. With the Knights Orchestra in New York, he recorded two symphonic albums for Sony and toured extensively in Europe and the United States. As a conductor, Lipson has extensive experience, having led school wind ensembles across China and high school and chamber orchestras in the United States. Since 2019, he has served as guest conductor of the Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra, performing at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. In the field of lyrics and translation, Lipson contributed the Chinese lyrics for the song “Going Home” on Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble album Sing Me Home, which won a Grammy Award.

At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lipson performed solo works at a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People for top Chinese and American leaders. Since 2022, he has served as a guest expert at Chengdu University of Technology, where he has initiated a series of lectures on aesthetic education. Deeply committed to education, Lipson has guided many students to gain admission to top music schools and conservatories in the United States and Europe, including the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, Yale University, Eastman School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Colburn School, Royal Academy of Music in the UK, Cologne University of Music, Hamburg University of Music, and Interlochen Arts Academy. His students also hold prominent clarinet positions in orchestras such as principal clarinetist of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra.