Clarinetist David Blumberg has a diverse musical career as a performer, instructor, reed clinician, and music producer.
Mr. Blumberg founded and runs the largest active member clarinetist group “Clarinetists” (located on Facebook) with over 45,000 members from across the globe. Most notably, he produced the unpublished John Williams Clarinet Concerto written for and performed by Clarinetist Michele Zukovsky and directed by John Williams. He also co-edited Clarinetist/Pedagogue AvrahmGalper (Principal Clarinetist, Toronto Symphony) popular Method books. He is Clarinet Faculty of the Baldwin Conservatory in Bryn Mawr, PA. and teaches students Worldwide online since 2009. He has Lectured numerous times to the Juilliard School Masters Program.
« I love the way that the BG Ligatures free up the reed’s response and bring out the colors of the Clarinet tone »
Mr. Blumberg has won 1st Prize at the Graham-Stahl Concerto Competition, won the US Navy Band Washington D.C. Audition, was a Winner of the WFLN Philadelphia Classical Radio Station Competition, the Delaware Council for the Arts Competition, the Lansdowne Symphony Concerto Competition, and at 2 years of playing Clarinet, was the Tri-State Winner of the Omega Psi Phi Foundation Music Competition. He performed the Philadelphia premiere of T.C. David’s Trio with SummerConcert Mistress of the Philadelphia Orchestra Nancy Bean, served as Principal Clarinetist of the Grand Teton Orchestral Seminar, and performed at the Robert Marcellus Nova Scotia Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he was one of the two selected Clarinetists from the United States. There he performed with Juilliard Staff Pianist of Dorothy Delay – Pamela Pyle, and Principal Cellist of the St. Louis Symphony /Vermeer Quartet Founding Cellist Member Richard Sher.
Mr. Blumberg went on to serve as Principal Clarinetist of the Riverside Symphonia, the Seabrook Opera directed by Beverly Sills Assistant Robert McFarland, and first Clarinetist with the National Band “WindWorks of Washington, D.C.” The latter was comprised of top players in the four largest D.C. Service Bands, the National Symphony, plus invited guest members. He also has performed as Clarinetist with the Harrisburg Symphony, Princeton Chamber players, Garden State Philharmonic, has performed with Philadelphia Orchestra members in Chamber Music Concerts. Hehas Orchestrally performed alongside Principal members of the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Juilliard Faculty, Manhattan School Faculty, and Yale Faculty. Recently he served as Section Leader of a Clarinet Choir performing with Clarinetists of the Marine Band, Navy Band, Air Force Band, and National Symphony in Northern Virginia for a charitable concert raising money for hurricane victims in Florida and Texas.
Mr. Blumberg has toured China twice, first with the Pizazz Symphony where he performed alongside members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic for of a crowd of over 10,000 and next as Principal Clarinetist with the Philadelphia Festival Orchestra giving 10 Concerts throughout China during which he was interviewed on Chinese TV. As Principal Clarinetist for the Foundation for Peace Orchestra he has performed at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall. Mr. Blumberg as served as Concertmaster of the 150 Clarinetist group “Clarinet Christmas” Directed by Retired National Symphony Clarinetist William Wright.
« My Choice is the BG DUO Silver/Gold Plated for its gorgeous sound and great response. I’ve played it all over the World from China to Carnegie Hall »
Mr. Blumberg’s teaching career has been equally as prolific including replacing an ailing Anthony Gigliotti in the Princeton, NJ “FAME” Festival - Foundation for Arts and Musical Excellence Music Festival, teaching alongside Yale Faculty Ransom Wilson, Erick Friedman, Julius Baker, and several Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music faculty members. He served as Clarinet Faculty with the Philadelphia (Orchestra) International Music Festival for six years, teaching alongside Ricardo Morales, Boris Allakhverdyan, and many Philadelphia Orchestra Members, and for three years has served as a faculty member of the Agaete Clarinet Festival in Grand Canaria Spain. Mr. Blumberg was a member of the Clarinet faculty of the New York City based “Summer Trios” Festivalperforming with New Jersey
Symphony Concertmaster Christopher Collins Lee (owner of Mozart’s Father Leopold Mozart’s Violin) and the Featured US Artist for the 40th Anniversary Symposium of the Clarinet Society of Great Britain (CASS) where he gave a Recital and Masterclass at the Guildhall School of Music.He was the first American Clarinetist to teach in Croatia when he was invited to teach at the 2018 Virovitica Clarinet Festival. He has given instruction/masterclasses at Trinity Laban Conservatory, Tennessee Tech, Colorado State University, West Chester University, University of Denver, Rowan University, Madrid Conservatory, Barcelona’sIEA Oriol Martorell (School for the Arts), Vienna, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht Conservatory,the Koln Conservatory Germany, and to the Clarinet section of the US Marine Band (San Diego). Mr. Blumberg has lectured multiple times to the Juilliard School’s Master’s Program on “the Art of TeachingOnline Music Lessons” during the Pandemic.
Recognized for his expertise, Mr. Blumberg was featured in the October 2014 edition of NAfME Magazine’s “Teaching Music” on instructing Clarinetists which was distributed to over 50,000 musicians and has judged international competitions including the “On Stage Chamber Music Competition” sponsored by Olympus camera company, the Nelly Berman Music School International Competition “Young Virtuosos of Tomorrow” Judges includedNew York Philharmonic Brass Member Ethan Bensdorf, and was an Adjudicator/Clinician for “Rhythms International” Music Festival. He is an online Faculty member for the Iconic Music Academy (NYC), PlayWithaPro.com (Copenhagen), and EStaccato.com (Utrecht) starting in 2010 as a pioneer of online Music instruction.
Regularly teaching students of all ages, from beginner to professional, Mr. Blumberg’s private students, both in-person and virtual, have gone on to win numerous local and international competitions and have professional careers in orchestras around the world. At age 28, he was and remains the youngest teacher ever to have a student as a winner in the International Clarinet Association (ICA) Young Artist Competition inits 57-year history; this student was also the only high school student admitted to the Competition that year, the following year the Competition created a High School Category. Student accomplishments include 2021 1st Prize in the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition; 1st Prize Winner Joseph F. of the 2020 Crescendo International Music Competition held at Weill Recital Carnegie Hall, 1strunner-up in the ICA Young Artist Competition Orchestral Audition (Edward S. was the youngest finalist by 8 years, and the only Undergrad); 1st Prize Wind Category in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; 1st Prize in the Interlochen Michigan Music Festival Concerto Competition; 1st Prize Matinee Musical Society Competition (Curtis Institute), First Runner-up U.S. Air Force Band competition;and 1stand 2nd Runners-up in the Sydney Forest Clarinet Competition. His students have also been featured on WFLN-FM Philadelphia Classical Radio during the “Live from the Settlement School” broadcasts.
Online student Jay S. was selected as 1st Clarinetist in the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra (2016);student Alex P. was selected as 1st Clarinetist in the 2019 National Orchestra NAfME and 4 students have been selected as members of the NAfME National Band.
In 2022, he had two clarinetists who are members of the elite“National Wind Ensemble”directed by US Marine Band Director Colonel Jason Fettig held in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Blumberg from Private Mentoring to Summer Festival Students are heard performing as regular members or substitutingwith: Air Force Band Ramstein Germany, Athens State Orchestra (Soloist), Berlin Germany Rock Symphony, Boston Conservatory (Clarinet Professor), Chicago Civic Orchestra (Principal), Cleveland Orchestra, Festival Mozaic, Harrisburg Symphony, Hartford Symphony, II Internacional Festival de Clarinete de Agaete, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Lima Symphony (Principal), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Marine Band Okinawa (Principal), Marine Band San Diego , Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Nevada Ballet , Northwest Florida Symphony (competition winning soloist) Orchestra Orso (Principal, Berlin), Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia Opera Company, Philadelphia Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Radio TV Serbia Orchestra (Principal), Reading Symphony, Richmond Symphony (2nd Clarinet), Royal Marine Band (UK - Soloist), Seattle Symphony Orchestra , South African Army Band (Principal Clarinet, Johannesburg), Tongyeong International Festival, Ureuk Symphony, NYC, and the US Army Band (Fort Drum).
Mr. Blumberg’s primary instructor while at Temple University was Anthony Gigliotti, Principal Clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He continued to study with Mr. Gigliotti for eight years completing Mr. Gigliotti’s doctoral coursework. While at Temple he also studied Piano with Alexander Fiorillo, who was one of only five students of Vladimir Horowitz, and also studied with George Sementovsky (direct student lineage to Mozart). Additional instruction included Charles Neidich, Leon Lester, and Joseph Allard. He has performed in Masterclasses of Paul Meyer, Joaquin Valdepenas, Mitchel Lurie, David Shifrin, and Leon Russianoff.
You can hear performances by Mr. Blumberg, his students, and digitization’s of Legendary Clarinetists whom he has produced for their Estates Harold Wright, Ralph McLane, Kalman Bloch, Michele Zukovsky, Wenzel Fuchs, LorinLevee, and Roger Salanderon his YouTube channel www.YouTube.com/blummy24x7 as well as his websiteswww.ClarinetLessonOnline.com and SkypeClarinetLessons.com
He is a long-time Artist for BG France (Ligatures), lefreQue Soundbridges Netherlands, and Ridenour Clarinet.
