Off The Podium

Ep. 127: Stephen Williamson, principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony. In this podcast we talk about Williamson's journey from the Metropolitan Opera to Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. He talks about playing jazz piano, starting the saxophone before switching to clarinet, playing principal clarinet as a sophomore at the Eastman School of Music, having four chances to audition for the Chicago Symphony, family, weightlifting and much more! Stephen Williamson is the principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, appointed in 2011 by Maestro Riccardo Muti. Mr. Williamson was formerly the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In addition, he has been a frequent guest principal clarinetist with the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra in Japan under Seiji Ozawa. Mr. Williamson is currently on the faculty of DePaul University in Chicago, IL. He has served on the clarinet faculty at Columbia University and the Mannes College of Music in New York