Performing at Carnegie Hall
Clarinetist Michael Drapkin was a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra,
as Associate Principal and Bass Clarinet and the New York City Opera Touring Company
and Lake George Opera Festival, as Principal Clarinet. He has spent summers playing
at Aspen and at Tanglewood as a Berkshire Music Center fellow, and was solo clarinetist
and Executive Director of Music Amici,
Rockland County, NY's oldest professional chamber music group and one of the finest
in the New York City area. He is currently founding member and Executive Director of the
Austin Clarinet Trio, and is a member of and has
soloed with the Austin Symphonic Band
Mr. Drapkin is a graduate
of the Eastman School of Music where he studied with D. Stanley Hasty, toured Japan with
the Eastman Wind Ensemble under Donald Hunsberger,
and played Principal Clarinet in the Eastman Philharmonia under David Effron. He also
studied clarinet with Gary Gray, Charles Bay and Harold Wright.
He has performed with
the New Jersey Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony, the Long Island
Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic
and with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson Thomas, Neville Marriner,
Leonard Slatkin, Lucas Foss, Christopher Keene, Klaus Tennstedt, Frederick Fennell, and
many more celebrated orchestras and maestros.
Mr. Drapkin is widely known in the
bass clarinet world as author of Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet Volumes One, Two and Three (published
by Northeastern Music Publications), which has
become standard literature amongst orchestral bass clarinetists worldwide. Volume Four: Transposed
Orchestra Parts for the Bass Clarinet, is currently in production.
Mr. Drapkin is the Founder and Executive Director of the Brevard Conference On
Entrepreneurship in Music (BCOME) (http://www.bcome.org)
at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, which held its first critically-acclaimed and sold out
season in the Summer of 2006. BCOME is dedicated to addressing the
oversupply of arts graduates in America and the lack of demand for their skills by teaching musicians
how to become entrepreneurs for the arts and create demand for what they do.
In recognition of his
groundbreaking work with BCOME, Mr. Drapkin was selected as a finalist for
The TenAwards in 2006.
The "Academy Awards of New York Business," the New York Ten Awards is an annual selection of ten companies
and individuals in the greater New York business community that display extraordinary leadership and innovation.
He is also in demand as a guest lecturer, soloist and for
master classes at music schools and institutions across the country, and
was a member of the Board of Directors of Youth Education in the Arts. He is a
concert, jazz, orchestra and marching band music adjudicator/clinician,
an arranger and an author. Mr. Drapkin is a Selmer Performing Artist.
5.2
Activities: 2007-2008 Season
Performing with Metropolitan Opera star Vahan Khanzadian and conductor Brian Salesky at the Merrick Jewish Centre in Long Island
- May 13, 2007 Solo with Austin Symphonic Band, Performance of Tempest Hora at Zilker Park Mother's Day concert.
- May 16-18, 2007 Guest Participant, Kauffman Campuses Annual Workshop. Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri.
- May 21, 2007 Reedmaking and Adjusting Workship, UT Austin School of Music
- May 25, 2007 Austin Clarinet Trio at Vino 100, Round Rock, Texas 5 - 8 pm.
- June 17, 2007 Austin Symphonic Band, Father's Day concert at Zilker Park in Austin.
- July 7, 2007 Austin Clarinet Trio at the Austin Figurative Gallery.
- July 27, 28, 29, 2007 Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship, Brevard Music Center, North Carolina
- September 2, 2007 Performance of Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Lustige Streich on bass clarinet with the
Mid-Texas Symphony in Jackson Auditorium at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.
- September 29, 2007 Music Performance - Individual Adjucator, USSBA Central Texas Preview, Hendrickson High School, Pflugerville, Texas
- October 6, 2007 BCOME Seminar on Music Entrepreneurship, California Institute for the Arts, Valencia, California
- October 7, 2007 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert at Zilker Park in Austin.
- October 13, 2007 Music Performance - Ensembe Adjucator, USSBA Southwest Texas Regional, Hendrickson High School, Pflugerville, Texas
- November 3, 2007 BCOME Seminar on Music Entrepreneurship, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
- November 14-18, 2007 National Conference of the College Music Society Salt Lake City. Participated in three presentations.
- November 23, 2007 Klezmer Solo Clarinet Appearance, Margaret and Shlomi's 9th Annual International Pie Festival, Austin, Texas
- December 16, 2007 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert at LBJ High School in Austin.
- December 21-22, 2007 Austin Symphonic Band, Performances at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.
- January 11, 2008 Austin Clarinet Trio at Vino 100, Round Rock, Texas 5 - 8 pm.
- February 2, 2008 BCOME Seminar on Music Entrepreneurship, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
- February 9, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert at Reagan High School in Austin.
- February 10, 2008 Performance of Ravel: Daphis et Chloe, Suite No. 2 on bass clarinet with the
Mid-Texas Symphony in New Braunfels Civic Center.
- April 12, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert at Reagan High School in Austin.
- May 11, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert in Zilker Park in Austin, featuring the Austin premiere of Michael Drapkin's piece
for concert band Suite of Old Yiddish Melodies.
- June 8, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, Concert at Zilker Park in Austin.
- July 4, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, City of Round Rock Fireworks Concert
- July 5, 2008 Austin Symphonic Band, City of Bastrop Fireworks Concert
- August 1-3, 2008 Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship, Brevard Music Center, North Carolina
5.3
Ensembles
Introducing the Michael Drapkin Clarinet Trio at Eastman's Kilbourn Hall
Michael Drapkin is Director of The Michael Drapkin Clarinet Trio which exclusively performs
Mr. Drapkin's arrangements and transcriptions for two clarinets and bass clarinet. A complete list of
his works may be seen at http://www.xb5.com
Mr. Drapkin was previously clarinetist and Executive Director with chamber music group Music Amici,
an ensemble founded in 1985 and the oldest professional chamber music group in Rockland
County, New York. Music Amici performs both in Rockland County and New York City, and
annually at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Music Amici has recorded on labels Angel/EMI and New World Records, and has often appeared
live on WQXR, WNYC and NPR, and performed in Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall as part of Michael Drapkin's
fundraising concert benefitting Youth Education in the Arts.
Mr. Drapkin has performed as Concertmaster with Maestro
Charles Yassky's Spirit of America Silver Cornet Band, a professional group which
presents youth concerts in the New York City area, and also with his South Orangetown
Band and All Star Band. He was also the Concertmaster of
the Rockland County Concert Band in New York.
He also periodically appears with
Mishulem's Klezmer Band, specializing in ethnic Yiddish wedding dance music.
He has previously held positions with:
- The Honolulu Symphony, Assistant Principal Clarinet and Bass Clarinet
- The New York City Opera Touring Company, Principal Clarinet
- The Lake George Opera Festival, Principal Clarinet
He has also performed on both the clarinet and bass clarinet with the following ensembles:
New Jersey Symphony, New York City Ballet, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Long Island Philharmonic,
The Goldman Band, Rochester Philharmonic, Ballet Hawaii Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Symphony,
Virginia Opera Theatre, Berkshire Music Center Orchestra, Northeastern Pennsylvania
Philharmonic, Westfield Symphony, Chamber Opera Theatre of New York, Village Light Opera
Group, Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestra, New York Lyric Opera, Steve Reich Ensemble,
others.
5.4
Concerto Appearances
Soloing Dinicu's Tempest Hora
Mr. Drapkin has performed solos with:
- Austin Symphonic Band
- Spirit of America Silver Cornet Band
- Rockland County Concert Band
- Teaneck Community Band
- South Orangetown Community Band
- Dumont (NJ) High School Band
He has performed his Eastern European Set - Tarras:
Dovid'l Bazetst di Kallah, Dinicu: Tempest Hora (transcribed by Drapkin for clarinet) - was arranged specially for him
by band arranger Ron Combes of Reno, Nevada.
5.5
The Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship
With John Candler, President and Bruce Murray, Dean
at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina
Michael Drapkin is the Founder and Executive Director of
The Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship (BCOME), the first national conference on
entrepreneurship in music. A think tank with key speakers was held on July 16-17, 2005, and a
full sold-out conference was held on July 14-16 2006 at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, with a
$50,000 grant obtained from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
In addition to the generous sponsorship by the Kauffman Foundation, BCOME was sponsored by the Brevard
Music Center, the College Music Society, the Music Entertainment Industry Educator's Association,
the American Federation of Musicians, the Executive Council of New York, Yamaha Corporation, with special
help from Chamber Music America and Polyphonic.org.
BCOME seeks to address the
huge imbalance between the supply of performing artists and the lack of demand for
their skills by equipping performers, educators and industry professionals with skills in entrepreneurship
so that they may become the creators of new concerts and other arts activities at the
grass roots level - the largest and most underserved fine arts market in America.
Instead of performers graduating from performing arts schools and unrealistically
expecting to be handed a job in an almost non-existent market, BCOME trains attendees to bring
new fine arts to an underserved public while gaining sustainable careers.
In recognition of his
groundbreaking work with BCOME, Mr. Drapkin was selected as a finalist for
The TenAwards.
The "Academy Awards of New York Business," the New York Ten Awards is an annual selection of ten companies
and individuals in the greater New York business community that display extraordinary leadership and innovation.
In addition, Michael Drapkin has worked to influence the creation and adoption of Performance Entrepreneurialism Program (PEP)
curricula and instruction at conservatories and colleges of fine arts to teach
performers how to create demand for their abilities, in addition to their traditional
arts education.
You can view the Eastman and Juilliard PowerPoint presentations on the web.
You will need to be using a recent version of the Microsoft Internet Explorer web
browser on a PC:
Juilliard Presentation
- High bandwidth version, great graphics
Eastman Presentation
- Low bandwidth version, quicker to load
5.6
Adjudication
The Kingsmen Drum and Bugle Corps
Mr. Drapkin is an accredited Music Performance Adjudicator with YEA!'s United States
Scholastic Band Association (USSBA), the Musical Arts Conference and Cavalcade of Bands.
He judges music at marching band shows in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
and Pennsylvania. He has judged at both individual shows and at championships.
Mr. Drapkin also conducts clinics and festival adjudication for
concert bands, string orchestras and jazz bands for Classic Festivals & Tours.
In the upcoming seasons, he will participate in festivals in Philadelphia,
Boston, Montreal and Quebec.
5.7
Lectures/Master Classes
With clarinet students at Dumont High School in New Jersey
Mr. Drapkin is a frequent lecturer and guest instructor. Recent engagements include:
- The Eastman School of Music. Clarinet master class and guest lectures on Arts Leadership.
- The Juilliard School of Music. Guest lecture on Arts Leadership.
- Buffet/Vandoren Clarinet Choir Festival (Atlanta). Bass clarinet master class.
- University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts. Keynote speaker.
- University of Florida at Gainesville. Bass clarinet master class
- Lamont High School, Lamont, Illinois. Lecture, demonstration, critique with their concert band;
with John Bruce Yeh, Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony.
[To arrange a lecture or master class, please email
michael@drapkin.net]
5.8
Publications
Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet, Volumes One & Two
Mr. Drapkin has published seven books and numerous articles on both music and non-music subjects.
Click here for a full list of Michael Drapkin's arrangements and compositions.
His
music publications include:
Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet, Volume One Roncorp, Inc.; Cherry Hill, N.J.;
September, 1979. This orchestral excerpt book for the bass clarinet has become
standard literature, and graces the music stand of virtually every
serious bass clarinetist worldwide. This well-known work is going into its
second printing with Roncorp.
Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet, Volume Two Roncorp, Inc.; Cherry Hill,
N.J.; Includes works by Barber, Bartok, Copland, Dvorak, Mahler, Musorgsky/Ravel,
Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg, Schuman, Shostakovich, Strauss, Stravinsky,
and Walton.
Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet, Volume Three Roncorp, Inc.; Cherry Hill,
N.J.; Anticipated publication date: 2005.
Saint-Saens: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, transcribed for clarinet and piano;
Roncorp, Inc.; Cherry Hill, N.J.; December, 2002. Premiered with orchestra by clarinetist John Bruce Yeh
of the Chicago Symphony with the Glenbrook Symphony at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.
It was premiered at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium in the version for clarinet and piano
by clarinetist Bil Jackson of the Colorado Symphony.
Live Premiere
Performance December 18, 2002. 
Verdi Trios Arranged for Two Clarinets and Bassoon: 'La donna e mobile,' 'Un di felice,
eterea,' 'Parigi, o cara'; Roncorp, Inc.; Cherry Hill, N.J.; January 1983
Musicians as Programmers (article), Electronic Musician Magazine, 1992
5.9
Arrangements
Saint-Saens: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, arranged for clarinet.
Mr. Drapkin has been arranging music since 1980 when he did his first arrangement for two
clarinets and bassoon.
Since then he has done several dozen arrangements for that ensemble, of which three have been
published as a set by Roncorp, Inc. (see section above).
Click here for a full list of Michael Drapkin's arrangements and compositions.
Recent arrangements have branched into other areas, including:
Tempest Hora
-
Wild Rumanian violin piece by Grigorich Dinicu transcribed by Michael Drapkin for clarinet and piano; this
live performance by Michael Drapkin on April 15, 2002 with concert band accompanyment by Ron Combes.
Der Rosenkavalier
- Introduction to the Strauss Opera Der Rosenkavalier for drum and bugle
corps with Bb horns. This arrangement was read by the eight time world champion
Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps.
on December 7, 2002 at their camp in New Jersey. Also arranged for full concert band.
Walking the Dog.Gershwin's popular piece from the movie Shall We Dance
arranged for solo clarinet and concert band.
In the Light
-
Led Zeppelin's classic hard rock work arranged for clarinet and string quartet.
The Last Waltz
-
Robbie Robinson's swan song for The Band, arranged for clarinet and string quartet.
Tocatta
- from Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, J.S. Bach. Arranged for solo
clarinet. Live performance by Michael Drapkin on November 24, 2002 at the Pearl River
Library in Rockland County, New York.
Each link followed by the
symbol connects to an MP3 file; performed by the Sibelius notation program on a Proteus/2
Orchestral sound module unless otherwise notated. Listening to these files requires a
broadband connection for speedy playback.
