Andrew Sprung, Clarinetist & Educator

Congratulations to the following members of my studio who earned invitations to Michigan All-State Band and Orchestra:

Lynette Lee – Clarinet, Novi High School
James Chen – Clarinet, Novi High School
Mao Sugiura – Clarinet, Novi High School
Adi Sinha – Bass Clarinet, Novi High School
Eric Ma – Clarinet, Novi Middle School
Ethan Ko – Clarinet, Novi Middle School
Jacquelyn Zhang – Clarinet, Northville Meads Mill Middle School

These students will rehearse & perform with the All-State ensembles at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids January 16-18, 2020 in DeVos Performance Hall. I’m very proud of each of them, and I look forward to attending their performances!

I will perform the Concertino for Clarinet and Band by Frank Bencriscutto with two ensembles in the coming months:

Monday, November 11 at 7:00 pm with the Walled Lake Central High School Wind Ensemble (WLC High School Auditorium)

Friday, December 13 at 7:30 pm with the Hillsdale Wind Symphony (Markel Auditorium on the Hillsdale College campus)

Join us if you can – both performances are free and open to the public. I look forward to collaborating with both of these talented ensembles!

Andrew Li, a senior at Novi High School and member of my studio, earned an invitation to the final round of the International Clarinet Association’s High School Solo Competition. He is one of only six clarinetists worldwide to earn this distinction. The final round will take place in Knoxville, Tennessee during ClarinetFest 2019 (July 24-28). Congratulations Andrew!

Congratulations to the following students, all of whom earned invitations to Michigan All-State Band or Orchestra:

Andrew Li (Senior) – 1st chair clarinet, High School All-State Orchestra
Lynette Lee (Junior) – 16th chair clarinet, High School All-State Band
James Chen (Junior) – 23rd chair clarinet, High School All-State Band
Adi Sinha (Junior) – 2nd chair bass clarinet, High School All-State Band
Eric Ma (7th Grade) – 9th chair clarinet, Middle School All-State Band
Emily (Seohyeon) Choi (8th Grade) – 12th chair clarinet, Middle School All-State Band

They will participate in rehearsals for their respective ensembles January 24-25 with a concert on January 26 in DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. I’m very proud to call them my students, and I look forward to attending their performances!

The month of October features five orchestra concerts:

October 5: Michigan Philharmonic (Plymouth, MI)
Hector Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto
Wael Binali: Earth: Plunder, Wound, Renewal, Hope
Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis
Learn more

October 14: Traverse Symphony Orchestra (Traverse City, MI)
Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto (Jeanmarie Riccobono, soloist)
Jean Sibelius: Symphony no. 2 in D Major
Learn more

October 20: Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (Palos Heights, IL)
Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto
Ben Ash: World Premiere
George Gershwin: An American in Paris
Learn more

October 27 & 28: Windsor Symphony Orchestra (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)
Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Harold Arlen: music from Wizard of Oz
John Williams: music from Harry Potter
Learn more

My latest publication is now available through Alea Publishing: Carl Baermann’s Method For Clarinet: Part 3, Op. 63 adapted for Bass Clarinet to low C. Click here for more information or to purchase.

Also available from Alea Publishing are my transcriptions for bass clarinet and piano of:
Antonio Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in G Minor, RV 495
Carl Stamitz’s Bassoon Concerto in F Major
Ferdinand David’s Bassoon Concertino in B-flat Major, Op. 12.

On April 6 in Mount Pleasant, MI, studio member Andrew Li (a junior at Novi High School) was named one of four winners of the 2018 Michigan Youth Arts Festival Concerto Competition. On Friday, May 11, Andrew performed Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto no. 1 in F minor, 1st movement, with the Detroit Youth Symphony Orchestra as part of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Gala Concert.

This is one of the highest honors a high school instrumentalist can achieve in the state of Michigan. Congratulations to Andrew!

Congratulations to the following students for their recent Michigan Youth Arts Festival nominations:

- Senior Ivy Purkiss and junior Andrew Li received invitations to perform in the clarinet section of the MYAF Honors Band

- Junior Andrew Li (clarinet), junior Kyle Heslop (bass clarinet), and sophomore Adi Sinha (bass clarinet) were nominated as outstanding soloists

- The following chamber groups were nominated for outstanding ensemble: Andrew Li & Aditya Ravi (clarinet/bassoon duet); Angie Jung, Mariel Williams, Andrew Li, Aditya Ravi, and Riley Rich (woodwind quintet); Momoka Ichihara, Lizzie Babcock, Yuna Tsujibayashi, Brendan Ireland, and Sid Battacharya (woodwind quintet)

West Michigan Symphony: “Hollywood’s Greatest Melodies”
Friday, February 9 at 7:30 pm
Frauenthal Theater, Muskegon, Michigan

Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra: “West Side Story In Concert”
Saturday, March 3 at 7:30 pm
W K Kellogg Auditorium, Battle Creek, Michigan

Traverse Symphony Orchestra: “Beethoven + Shostakovich”
Sunday, March 18 at 3:00 pm
Corson Auditorium, Interlochen, Michigan

I will be performing my bass clarinet and piano transcriptions as part of ClarinetFest 2018. This festival will be held in Ostend, Belgium July 6-11, 2018. More details will be announced at a later date.