Commemorating the significant influence of the renowned artist-teacher, Sidney Forrest (1918–2013), who taught clarinet to hundreds of students nationally and internationally while teaching at the Peabody Conservatory for 40 years, Interlochen Center for the Arts for 45 years, and the Catholic University of America for 50 years

                Location and Eligibility

               This competition will be held at the University of Maryland Clarinet Symposium at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, MD on April 8, 2018. Clarinetists in high school or high school graduates who have not yet attended college are eligible to participate.

              Prizes

Grand Prize $750
2nd Prize: $250
3rd Prize: 5 boxes of DiLutis Clarinet Reeds
​All finalists will earn certificates.
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​           Application Package Deadline – January 14, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. EST
           Application Package – Application Form, Fee–$25, YouTube Video Recording (Qualifying Solo)

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Repertoire

Qualifying Solo – Capriccio for Solo Clarinet by Heinrich Sutermeister (unaccompanied for A or Bb clarinet acceptable)
Final Round Solo – Five Bagatelles by Gerald Finzi (accompanied)
PLEASE READ THE RULES PAGE FOR DETAILS.

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           Sponsors

           The Sidney Forrest Clarinet Competition was established in 2015 by Paula Forrest, in memory of her father. Ms. Forrest lives in Ames, Iowa and is active as a pianist, teacher, and artistic director of the Ames Town and Gown Chamber Music Association.

           The competition will be hosted by the University of Maryland’s Clarinet Professor, Robert DiLutis, as a major event during Clarinet Symposium on April 8, 2018, on the University of Maryland campus.

           Sidney Forrest’s vast collection of music for clarinet has been donated to the library of the International Clarinet Association, located in the Music Department’s Special Collections Library at the University of Maryland. We look forward to the collection being available shortly.

About Sidney Forrest

          Born in 1918, Sidney Forrest was awarded a scholarship at a young age from the New York Philharmonic to study with its renowned solo clarinetist, Simeon Bellison.  He subsequently studied with Bellison at the Juilliard School, and also attended the University of Miami and Columbia University. In addition to Bellison, he studied with Alexander Williams, principal clarinetist of the NBC Symphony under Toscanini and Otto Conrad, principal clarinetist of Berlin Philharmonic.

         Mr. Forrest began his professional performing career in Washington, DC, as clarinet soloist with the prestigious United States Marine Band (the President's own) through the entirety of World War II.  Immediately afterwards, at age 26, he became principal clarinetist of the National Symphony Orchestra, professor of clarinet at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and established an enviable career as an acclaimed clarinet soloist and chamber artist.  Among his numerous recordings, his landmark renditions of Berg's Four Pieces, Weber's Gran Duo Concertante, Hindemith's Sonata and Mozart's Quintet in A major (with the Galimir String Quartet), and the Brahms Trio (with Bernard Greenhouse and Erno Balogh) are still highly prized.
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       As a highly respected teacher, Sidney Forrest was most notably professor of clarinet at Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University from 1946 to 1985.  And for 45 summers (1959–2004) he was a member of the faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.  He also taught for 50 years at the Catholic University of America, and  served on the faculty of American University.  As evidence of his success, his former students have taken major orchestral positions in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Baltimore, Memphis, Stuttgart, London, and Paris.

        Numerous solo and chamber performances took place at such venues as the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, and the National Gallery in Washington, as well as many other places throughout the country.  One very special occasion was when he performed Copland's landmark Clarinet Concerto with the composer as conductor, at the Pan American Union in Washington.

      Mr. Forrest was also a respected clinician/adjudicator, judging and presenting master classes throughout this country and in Canada, and serving as a juror for the United States Fulbright Commission.  He published numerous arrangements of music for the clarinet, and regularly contributed of articles for various woodwind journals. He was actively teaching until his death just before his 95th birthday.