“McGill is an extraordinary player, with a quiver of skills and a palette of colors that only buttress what is a singular sensibility toward his instrument. The man is an artist.”
The Washington Post
“Tao’s ability to get around a keyboard — with either nimble agility or pounding intensity as required — is something to marvel over.”
San Francisco Chronicle
He is one of the most sought-after clarinet soloists. In a list of the world’s top ten, Odiseimusic wrote, “[Anthony McGill] represents the excellence of the American school filtered through an exquisite sensitivity to chamber music.”
Anthony McGill rose quickly as a “superstar clarinetist” (The Arts Fuse), becoming principal of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at 25 and of the New York Philharmonic at 34. McGill brings “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times) to everything he touches. This time, he teams up with Conrad Tao, who returns to Duke after an acclaimed appearance in the fall of 2025. “A revelation of a player with honest intensity and passion for music” (Cultural Voice of North Carolina), Tao joins McGill for a variety of works for clarinet and piano.
Anthony McGill is the 2020 winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize and was named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2024.
Brahms: Sonata in E-flat for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2 Alban Berg: Vier Stücke (Four Pieces) TBD: Additional New Works
*Program is subject to change
About Anthony McGill
Clarinetist Anthony McGill, praised for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times), is one of classical music’s most recognizable and multifaceted figures. He serves as Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic—the first African-American principal in the orchestra’s history—and enjoys a dynamic solo and chamber music career.
McGill is the 2024 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year and recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize. He appears regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics and the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies.
He has released acclaimed recordings with the Pacifica Quartet (American Stories, Mozart & Brahms Quintets), and pianist Gloria Chien (Here With You), and performed at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration. His advocacy for racial equity includes founding the viral #TakeTwoKnees campaign and partnering with Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative, with whom he performed in Montgomery, AL on Juneteenth 2024.
McGill is a faculty member at Juilliard and Curtis, where he directs the Music Advancement Program (MAP), focused on young musicians from underrepresented communities. He helped launch the MAP Summer Scholarship Fund and supported its $50 million Crankstart endowment.
McGill is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, a board member of Cedille Records and the Harmony Program, and an advisor to several youth initiatives. He is a Backun Artist.
Conrad Tao is a pianist and composer celebrated for his boundary-defying artistry as well as his powerful performances of traditional repertoire. Described by New York Magazine as “the kind of musician who is shaping the future of classical music,” and praised by The New York Times for his “probing intellect and open-hearted vision,” Tao appears regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras and at major venues across the world.
Tao is also a cross-genre performer whose recent collaborators include dancer Caleb Teicher, vocalist Charmaine Lee, artist Avram Finkelstein, choreographer Miguel Gutierrez and The Westerlies. He is also a member of the Junction Trio alongside Stefan Jackiw and Jay Campbell. Tao is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gilmore Young Artist Award, and a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for his collaboration with Caleb Teicher on More Forever.
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