Kelli O'Connor
clarinet
Clarinetist Kelli O'Connor was praised in the New London
Day as "an individualistic player with plenty of head
and heart...the star of the evening…her gorgeous tone
and liquid line has made her an invaluable presence,"
for her performance of the First Clarinet Concerto of Carl
Maria von Weber with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.
She has also appeared as a soloist under the direction of
David Lockington at Summer Music at Harkness, performing the
Clarinet Concerto of Charles Stanford.
A founding member of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Ms. O'Connor
also serves as Principal Clarinet of the Eastern Connecticut
Symphony Orchestra and Salf Marsh Opera, and is a member of
the Connecticut Orchestra. In addition, she appears frequently
with the Hartford Symphony and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber
Orchestra. From 1995 to 1999 she was a member of the United
States Coast Guard Band, and performed the recent national
tour of Fiddler on the Roof.
In addition to her performing career, Ms. O'Connor is an
active and enthusiastic educator, teaching privately and on
the faculty of the University of Rhode Island. She founded
and directs the Waterford High School Clarinet Choir, which
has won many distinctions and been repeatedly invited to the
Connecticut All-State Music Educator's Convention as an honor
ensemble.
A native of Newburgh, New York, Ms. O'Connor received her
Bachelor's Degree from Baldwin-Wallace College as a student
of Dr. Alan P. Squire, where she won the concerto competition
with Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie. While in school, she served
as Principal Clarinet with the prestigious Cleveland Orchestra
Youth Orchestra under conductor Jahja Ling, and had the opportunity
to work with Leonard Slatkin and Christoph von Dohnanyi. Ms.
O'Connor was awarded a Master's Degree from the New England
Conservatory, where she studied with Thomas Martin of the
Boston Symphony. She was also an NEC concerto competition
winner, with the Five Dance Preludes of Witold Lutoslawski.
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