Clarinet alumni take orchestral positions

Two clarinet alumni of USC Thornton Winds and Percussion faculty member Yehuda Gilad have secured positions with American orchestras. Brad Whitfield (MM ’11) recently won the Assistant Principal Clarinet chair with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, under maestro Christopher Confessore.

Sergei Vassiliev (GCRT ’09), who recently became Principal Clarinet for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, was the subject of an article on the orchestra’s website, detailing his youth in the former Soviet Union through to his studies in Los Angeles at USC Thornton and beyond. In the article, glimpses of Vassiliev’s humor and humanity shine through as he explains his philosophy on becoming a successful musician: the world may seem to constantly say “no,” but “you just need to get that one ‘yes’” to begin the path to artistic success.