Conductor / Professor /
Clarinetist
Yehuda Gilad
integrates performing,
conducting and teaching
into every aspect of his
music. As a conductor,
performer and professor,
he integrates these
disciplines into “total
musicianship.” At the
USC Thornton School of
Music and at the Colburn
Conservatory, Mr. Gilad
has developed one of the
most sought after
clarinet studios in the
world, evidenced by the
number of students
placed in orchestras
world wide as well as
winners in, most of the
major competitions. The
accomplishments of Mr.
Gilad’s teachings can be
best noted through the
success of his students,
many of which are
competition winning
performers and principal
players in ranking
orchestras throughout
the world. Former
students of Mr. Gilad
are currently members of
the New York
Philharmonic, Cincinnati
and Minnesota orchestras
and the Stockholm,
Sweden, Hong Kong, China
and Seoul philharmonics,
Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, and National
Orquesta of Spain, to
name a few. Mr. Gilad
has also produced
prize-winners of the New
York Philharmonic Young
Artists Competition, the
Pasadena Instrumental
Competition, the Dos
Hermanas, Nielsen,
Munich and other
prestigious
competitions.
In addition to
his positions as
professor of music at
USC, master teacher at
the Colburn Conservatory
and Music Director of
Colburn Orchestra, Mr.
Gilad is regularly
invited to present
master classes and
performances at music
conservatories and
festivals worldwide. He
has been invited to such
institutions as Kings
College, Sweden, the
Winter Festival in
Spain, the Curtis
Institute, the Mannes
College, Julliard,
Sibelius and Oslo
Academy, Beijing
Conservatory and the
Manhattan School of
Music, among others.
An accomplished
clarinetist, Mr. Gilad
has performed with the
Marlboro Music Festival,
Bowdoin Music Festival,
San Francisco Chamber
Music Festival, Bowdoin
summer fest, and
Crussell festival. He
has collaborated as
performer and conductor
with many of today’s
most prominent artists
including Gil Shaham,
John Perry, Sara Chang,
Joseph Kalichstein,
Vladimir Feltsman and
David Jolley, Josh Bell,
Jimmy Linn and many
others.
Mr. Gilad has had
an instrumental role in
the founding and forming
of several notable
chamber ensembles and
festivals. From 1982 –
1993 he directed the
Malibu Strawberry Creek
Music Festival, an
acclaimed annual event
that provided Los
Angeles with "a summer
festival in which
inspired, enthusiastic
performance and
intelligent varied
programming are the
norm" (Los Angeles
Times). Mr. Gilad also
founded the Yoav Chamber
Ensemble which performed
at the Merkin and
Carnegie Recital Halls,
and the Colburn Woodwind
Chamber Players, which
toured Germany, China
and major cities
throughout the U.S.
Mr. Gilad’s
success as a conductor
equals that of his
renown as a performer
and teacher. Hailed as
one of today’s most
dynamic and charismatic
conductors, Mr. Gilad
serves as Conductor and
Music Director of the
Colonial Symphony of New
Jersey and the Colburn
Orchestra. Since his
appointment to this post
in 1988, Mr. Gilad has
received critical
acclaim from The New
York Times for his
“strong imaginative
programming” and
championing of American
and contemporary music.
As noted in an article
in The Star-Ledger,
Gilad has "transformed
the Colonial Symphony
into one of [New
Jersey's] artistic
trendsetters." Under his
leadership, the
orchestra became the
only one in the area to
receive an NEA grant for
seven consecutive years.
In 1995 and 1996 the
orchestra received the
Distinguished Arts
Organization Award from
the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts for
its artistry and
programming merits. As a
staunch advocate of arts
education, Mr. Gilad has
elevated the Colonial
Symphony into not only a
premiere regional
orchestra, but also a
teaching orchestra,
taking it "on the road"
to various urban and
suburban schools,
integrating the
orchestra into the
schools' curriculum.
Mr. Gilad’s guest
conducting appearances
have brought him
critical acclaim in both
the United States and
Europe, where he has
conducted throughout
Spain, Sweden, Germany
and France. In 1987 he
became the first Israeli
born conductor to
perform in China and has
since conducted numerous
engagements in Beijing
and Shanghai. In
addition to his guest
conducting engagements,
Mr. Gilad serves as
Music Director of the
Herbert Zipper Orchestra
of Los Angeles and the
20th Century Unlimited
concert series in Santa
Fe, New Mexico. From
1982 until 1988 Mr.
Gilad was Music Director
of the Santa Monica
Symphony Orchestra.
For his
contribution to music
Mr. Gilad has earned
numerous accolades
including Distinguished
Teacher Award from the
White House Commission
on Presidential
Scholars, Teacher of the
Year Award from the
Colburn School, the
Israel-America Cultural
Foundation Scholarship
and the Robert Simon
Award in Music. His
former teachers include
Herbert Zipper, Daniel
Lewis, William Schaefer,
Mitchell Lurie and Giora
Feidman. In addition,
Mr. Gilad participated
in numerous master
classes with Sergiu
Celibidache and the late
Leonard Bernstein.
Dedicated to fostering
increased public
appreciation and support
of classical music in
the United States and
abroad, Mr. Gilad has
made frequent
appearances on various
broadcasts including
NBC, CBS, WQXR, WMTR,
KUSC, NJN, Cablevision,
and the national
television of mainland
China
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