Help! I Don’t Play Clarinet But I Have to Teach It!
Clinic Synopsis:
This presentation aims to answer common questions asked by band directors who may not specialize in clarinet in order to catch issues early and prevent common bad habits. This panel discussion presents an overview of establishing essentials for Beginning and Intermediate players, with many ideas applicable for Advanced players. Discussion covering when and how to start bass clarinet is also covered. Attendees are encouraged to bring their clarinets. Handbooks will also be available to take home.
Jennifer Willsea Branch
- Biographical Information
Clarinetist Jennifer Branch has soloed internationally with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, has toured nationally with the NY-based Music Man in the capacity of Reed 2 and Associate Conductor, has performed with the Sousa Band, and in Carnegie Hall with the Allentown Band. She currently freelances with Baroque Orchestra of NJ, Light Opera of NJ and the Plainfield Symphony. Jennifer teaches at Montclair State University within their Music Education department. Her private students have earned seats at Interlochen and NJ All-State Ensembles, with New Jersey Youth Symphony Orchestra, and have gone on to study music in colleges across the U.S. Jennifer has co-authored the recently submitted final draft of Suzuki Clarinet Method book 1, publication pending.
Julianne Kirk Doyle - Biographical Information
Dr. Julianne Doyle is Professor of Clarinet at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and a recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence. Dr. Doyle served as Director of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane Youth Music Camp from 2009-2023 and continues to serve on camp faculty. She performs regularly with the Aria Reed Trio, Potsdam Woodwind Quintet, and is Principal Clarinet of the Orchestra of Northern New York and Northern Symphonic Winds. Actively involved in the International Clarinet Association, Dr. Doyle will serve as Secretary from 2026-2028, serves as New York state chair, Clareidoscope program chair, and was selected as a ClarinetFest 2025 Headlining Artist. From 2022-2024, she served as Pedagogy Coordinator and has adjudicated the ICA Young Artists and Research Competitions. Known also for her articles on alleviation and prevention of the soft palate air leak, Doyle assists wind players internationally. A champion of living composers, she has joined recent consortiums for new works by Jenni Brandon, Reena Esmail, Stacy Garrop, Amanda Harberg, Theresa Martin, Tyler Mazone, Paul Schoenfeld, James Stephenson, and many more. Doyle earned the DMA, MM and Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a BM from the University of Oklahoma. She is an artist with Backun Musical Services and DANSR/Vandoren.
Alexandra Doyle - Biographical Information
Dr. Alexandra Doyle adores teaching music history, chamber music, and of course, the clarinet. She is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her responsibilities there include all of her favorite things, as well as teaching a Taylor Swift course and leading the NSU Community-University Band. Previously, Alexandra was on the faculty of Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, Thomas More University in Kentucky and the Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton.
As a performer, Alexandra most enjoys playing orchestral repertoire, opera, and chamber music. She is a member of the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, where she serves as the festival’s marketing director. Alexandra has also performed with the Tulsa Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, Illinois Symphony, Lima Symphony, Symphony of Southeast Texas, and many others.
Originally from Houston, Alexandra holds bachelor’s degrees in clarinet performance and print journalism from the University of Houston (2016), as well as a minor in creative works through the UH Honors College. Her Master of Music (2018) and Doctorate of Musical Arts (2022) are both from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
Alexandra Doyle is a Vandoren Artist-Clinician and a Buffet Crampon Artist, as well as a member of the International Clarinet Association’s Pedagogy Committee.
Luke Ellard - Biographical Information
Clarinetist, composer, educator, and new music collaborator Luke Ellard (they/them) strives for art that continually reaches out, valuing a relational spirit, informed engagement, and unapologetic authenticity.
For Luke, collaboration is what gives music life. As a clarinetist, they have performed with members of Bang On a Can All Stars, Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Arkansas Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Charlottesville Symphony, and Mallarmé Chamber Music. As a composer, their music has been performed and commissioned by ensembles such as North Texas Wind Symphony, HOCKET, New Trombone Collective, Barkada Quartet, among others. Their current performance projects center around their self-produced solo cross-genre/electronic band LE, their new music quartet Sounding Board, Newfound Chamber Winds (Midwest Clinic Performance, December 2025), New Music on the Bayou Festival, and commissioning new exciting works for the clarinet.
Luke is lucky to teach and learn alongside an incredible group of students as Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Gail Lehto Zugger - Biographical Information
Gail Lehto Zugger is tenured full Professor of Clarinet at Capital University in Columbus, OH, a position held since 1999, and in her twenty-second season as Second Clarinet of the Ashland (OH) Symphony Orchestra. She has played with the Columbus Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, and Lancaster (OH) Festival orchestras and has given clinics at dozens of MENC (now NAfME) conferences throughout the United States and at the 2012 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL. Recent accomplishments include presenting a lecture recital at 2025 ClarinetFest in Fort Worth, TX and conducting the Capital University Clarinet Choir performance at the 2025 OMEA conference. She currently serves as the Ohio State Chair for the International Clarinet Association, serves on the ICA Pedagogy Committee and contributes regularly to the ICA’s The Clarinet journal. Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, Gail holds degrees from The Ohio State University and UW-Milwaukee, former teachers include James Pyne, Russell Dagon and Jack Snavely.
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