Clarinetist William Kirkley has performed to acclaim throughout North America, and is active as an orchestral musician, recitalist and chamber musician. Mr. Kirkley’s playing has been called “emotional, committed, and intensely exciting” by the Boston Globe. He has performed with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, and the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Kirkley is principal clarinet and one of the founding members of the Lexington Symphony, in addition, he is the principal clarinetist for the Cape Ann Symphony, Worcester Collegium, a member of the Orchestra of Indian Hill, and is on the music faculties at Gordon College and Salem State College. Previous teaching appointments have included UMass Boston and Brandeis University. He can often be heard performing as the substitute principal clarinet, or solo bass clarinet for the Albany Symphony, and the Springfield Symphony. Mr Kirkley has been a member of the East Texas Symphony, the Baton Rouge Symphony, and has performed with the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Arkansas Symphony, and the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra. He has been a concerto soloist for the Garland Symphony and Mesquite Symphony in Texas, and the North Arkansas Symphony. In New England, Mr Kirkley has been a soloist with the Gordon Symphony, the North Shore Philharmonic under Harry Ellis Dickson, the Cape Ann Symphony, the Lexington Sinfonietta, and now the Lexington Symphony!
An avid proponent of new music, Mr. Kirkley is the clarinetist for Boston Musica Viva, America’s most established contemporary music ensemble. Prior to this he was the clarinetist for the Auros Group for New Music, and is actively involved with commissioning and recording works for clarinet/bass clarinet and chamber ensemble. He has recorded on the CRI, SEAMUS, New World, Albany Records, and Centaur labels. New music performances have also included the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Harvard Group for New Music, and Brandeis New Music. He has performed recital/master-classes at many colleges and universities in the country, including New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, University of New Hampshire, Harvard University, Yale University, Skidmore College, SUNY Fredonia, LSU-Lafayette, University of Oklahoma, Mr. Kirkley’s principal teachers have been Robert Umiker, Robert Marcellus, and Anthony Gigliotti. In addition to teaching at Gordon College and Salem State College, Mr K (as his students call him), maintain a very busy private teaching studio, including students from Lexington.
