Anthony McGill

Anthony McGill is the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and has performed widely as a soloist and chamber musician. He is the Philharmonic's first African American section principal. McGill was born in Chicago on July 17, 1979, and grew up in the Chatham neighborhood on the city's far South Side. His older brother, Demarre, has served as principal flutist with the Seattle, Dallas, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and the two brothers have performed and recorded together. Anthony took lessons from jazz musician Richard Dawkins and then from Lyric Opera clarinetist Stanley Davis. He also took lessons at the Merit School of Music community program, which opened doors for lessons with other Chicago-area clarinetists. In adulthood, McGill has advocated for programs intended to increase diversity in the world of classical music. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and went on to graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He became the associate principal clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 2000, McGill received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and four years later, he became the principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. Another career breakthrough came when McGill was heard at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2008, playing a new work, Air and Simple Gifts, by composer John Williams. In 2010, McGill released a self-titled album. In 2014, McGill moved from the Metropolitan Opera to the New York Philharmonic as principal clarinetist, becoming the orchestra's first African American principal in any section. The following year, he recorded Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto with the Philharmonic on the Dacapo label. He has continued to perform as a soloist and chamber player, appearing with major American orchestras, including the Baltimore, San Diego, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras. His long list of prestigious chamber music collaborators includes pianists Lang Lang and Emanuel Ax, and the Tokyo String Quartet. McGill has made several recordings for the Cedille label, including one of the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120, with pianist Gloria Chien, in 2021. ~ James Manheim, Rovi