Sponsor: Hugh & Janet Johnston

2017-2018 marks Michael Anderson’s 30^th season as Principal Clarinetist of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. He performed world premiere of Tomas Svoboda’s Clarinet Concerto, commissioned by the Eugene Symphony in 2012; the Strauss Duett-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon 2007 with Steve Vacchi, bassoon and Victor Yampolsky conducting; the Martin Concerto for Seven Winds 2004 with Giancarlo Guerrero; and the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in 1998 with Miguel Harth-Bedoya. His performance of the Svoboda Clarinet Concerto was broadcast nationally on Performance Today in 2013.

Michael has performed with the Eugene Symphony under all of its eight Music Directors, Lawrence Maves, William McGlaughlin, Adrian Gnam, Marin Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Giancarlo Guerrero, Danail Rachev, and Francesco Lecce-Chong, beginning as 5^th clarinet in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in McArthur Court in 1979 under the direction of Lawrence Maves.

Anderson is currently Principal Clarinet of the Santa Fe (NM) Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra; he performed as Principal Clarinet of the Oregon Ballet Theater (Portland) for 18 seasons, and was Principal Clarinet of the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under Helmuth Rilling for 20 seasons. He has also performed in recent years with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Chamber Music Northwest, Smithsonian Chamber Players and the Oregon Symphony under Carlos Kalmar, conductor.

His CD credits include the Grammy-nominated Das Lied von der Erde (Dorian) recorded by Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Smithsonian Chamber Players, Oregon Bach Festival's Grammy Award-winning recording of Penderecki's Credo (Hänssler), Oregon Symphony's Rite of Spring (Delos), Tomas Svoboda's Chamber Works Vol. 1 with Clarinet (North Pacific), and the Smithsonian Chamber Players/Santa Fe Pro Musica recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and Songs of a Wayfarer in versions for chamber ensemble by the Schoenberg circle of composers. He was a guest performer in 2002 and 2003 at the "Le Domaine Forget" festival in Quebec.

Anderson has also performed as concerto soloist with the Portland Columbia Symphony, Willamette Valley Symphony, Oregon Coast Music Festival, Oregon Mozart Players, Ernest Bloch Festival, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. He will perform the Concerto No. 3 by Crusell with the Salem Philharmonia Orchestra in April 2018. He has appeared as clarinet soloist on several occasions with Dick Hyman in Oregon Festival of American Music programs, in recitals at the Shedd Institute, and has collaborated with such notable composers as Tomas Svoboda, Kryzsztof Penderecki, Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, George Tsontakis, John Cage, and Harold Owen. He has performed chamber music with David Shifrin, Jeffrey Kahane, Robert Levin, Richard Egarr, Jaap Schroeder, Allan Vogel, Ingo Goritzki, Myron Lutzke, and Maria Jette. Over the years he has also appeared with Eugene Symphony guest artists Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Renee Fleming, John Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, and Victor Borge.

Michael Anderson was born in Portland Oregon, and studied at the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and the University of Southern California. His clarinet studies were with David Shifrin, Catherine Palladino, John McManus, Wayne Bennett, and Robert Vagner. He has taught at the University of Oregon, Willamette University, Lane Community College, and currently teaches at Woodwinds @ Wallowa Lake each summer. Mr. Anderson is Director of Artistic Administration for the Oregon Bach Festival.