Dr. Stephanie Zelnick
Dr. Stephanie Zelnick, Buffet-Crampon Artist and Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of Kansas, has emerged as one of the most dynamic performers of her generation. The San Francisco Classical Voice has described her as "simply sublime," while the Boulder Daily Camera praised her "exquisite clarinet solos." She has appeared as a soloist in venues throughout the United States, Asia, South America, and Europe, including most recently as artist in residence at the 34th annual International Music Festival of the Escola de Musica e Artes Cenicas da Universidade Federal de Goias in Goiania, Brazil,the Academia Musicale Vincenzo Bellini in Salerno, Italy, the European Day of Jewish Music in Novi Sad, Serbia, the Berkshire Music Trust in Reading, England, the Timisoara Muzicala Academica in Romania, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
Upcoming events include performances and masterclasses at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School with the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, the Florida State University, the New Frontiers Music Festival, and the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest in Los Angeles.
In addition to her solo work, she is currently the Principal Clarinet of the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and the Central City Opera, both located in Colorado. She has recently completed recordings of Morton Gould's Derivations as a featured soloist on the Naxos label, Brooke Joyce's Waves of Stone on the Innova label, and Antonio Fraiolis Appunti di Viaggio produced by the Accademia Italiana del Clarinetto. Her solo CD, Diaspora: Music by Jewish Composers for Clarinet, will be released in Fall, 2011.
Dr. Zelnick's playing can be heard weekly on NPR and Colorado Public Radio. She has been broadcast on WFMT, Chicago, as part of the Dame Myra Hess Artist Series, and featured on television series in Serbia, Italy (Gli Amici), and the United States.
While residing in Europe, Dr. Zelnick performed with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic, the Prague Opera, and the Johann Strauss Opera in Vienna. She has toured Europe as a soloist and a member of the Prague International Trio, performing in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Germany. She remains a member of the Prague-based chamber ensemble Classicon XX, and in 2009 was sponsored by Privrednik, Serbia's oldest humanitarian organization, to teach and play concerts throughout the country.
in addition to her current positions in the United States, she has served as principal clarinet in the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Sunflower Music Festival, as well as appearing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Seattle Pops, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the Colorado Music Festival, among many others. She has performed at the Southern Clarinet Symposium, Midwest Clarifest, the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, and the OU Clarinet Symposium. Dr. Zelnick served on the Artistic Committee for the 2008 ClarinetFest in Kanas City and is a member of the Clarinet review committeefor the 2011 ClarinetFest in Los Angeles.She is also a member of the Ad Astra Clarinet Quartet, recipients of the Kansas Arts Commission Arts on Tour Grant, with whom she has appeared at universities and festivals throughout the United States.
As a teacher, Zelnick has served on the faculties of the University of Wyoming and the University of Northern Colorado as well as teaching at the Florida State University. She is an active clinician and has presented master classes at numerous universities and conferences, including most recently in Campinas, Rio de Janeiro, Goiania, Brasilia, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Agropoli, Taipei, Timisoara, and throughout the United States. She has also written for both the NACWPI Journal and The Clarinet and is researching her book: A Guide to the High Altitude Clarinetwhich will be published in Spring 2012.
As part of Dr. Zelnick's commitment to outreach, she will work in the People's School Chicago in Spring 2011 and as a member of the Kansas Woodwinds in schools throughout the region.
With Mariam Adam, clarinetist of the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, she is a co-founder of the Middle East Meets the Midwest initiative, which strives to enhance cultural dialogues through music. Recently their AdZel Duo recorded Mohammed Fairouz's Ughniat and Anne Guzzo's The Color of Honey as part of their ongoing commitment to diverse elements in new music. They have been invited to perform these pieces on the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest 2011 at California State, Northridge and at the New Frontiers Music Festival.
Dr. Zelnick graduated from Rice University with a Bachelors degree in clarinet performance. She was the recipient of a Fulbright Grant and received an Artist Diploma at the Academy for the Performing Arts in Prague. She earned her masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Zelnick is sponsored by Buffet Crampon, the world's finest and oldest clarinet manufacturer.
