Rebbecca Doggett - Harold Wright Clarinet Merit Award - 2008 Originally from Brookline, MA, Rebecca Doggett is currently a student of David Shifrin at the Yale School of Music where she is pursuing a Masters of Music in clarinet performance. Rebecca completed her undergraduate studies at Yale, graduating magna cum laude with a double major in psychology and music. While at Yale, Rebecca served as principal clarinetist of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and was awarded the Seymour L. Lustman prize for artistic and cultural contributions to the Yale community. In 2001, Rebecca made her Boston debut with the Boston Pops orchestra under the direction of Keith Lockhart as winner of the Boston Symphony Orchestra High School Concerto Competition. She is the recipient of an achievement award from the Harvard Musical Association and received the woodwind department award and the Eugene Lehner chamber music award upon graduating from the New England Conservatory Preparatory School where she was a student of William Wrzesien. During the summers, Rebecca is a faculty member at Jr. Greenwood Music Camp, a small chamber music camp in the Berkshires which she attended for many years. In the fall of 2008, she will be starting her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UC Santa Barbara, researching behavioral intervention techniques for children with autism.
Yuan Gao - Harold Wright Clarinet Merit Award - 2007 Yuan Gao started studying at the Central University of Nationalities College of Music in Beijing at the age of 13. He won the First Prize at The Second National Clarinet Competition of China when he was 16. A year later, he was the top prizewinner at Jeunesses Musicales International Music Competition in Romania. He is currently a member of Trio Diamante (clarinet, violin and piano), which was recently one of only twelve groups in the country invited to the quarterfinal round of the National Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the Senior Division String category. Last year, Trio Diamante won First Prize at the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition (sponsored by the Chamber Music Foundation of New England) and performed at Carnegie Hall. He has studied in Vienna, Belgium and Paris with Peter Schmidl (Principal Clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic), Eddy Vanoosthuyse (Principal Clarinetist of the Flemish National Radio Orchestra) at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Ghent, and Michel Lethiec (Professor at the Paris Conservatory). In the fall of 2007, Yuan will coninue studying with Jonathan Cohler, with whom he has worked since 2005, and complete the requirements for an Artist Diploma at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Danielle Occhipinti - Harold Wright Clarinet Merit
Award - 2006 Originally from New York, Danielle studied with David Dworkin and Ben Amato, both formerly of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and continued her studies at New England Conservatory with Thomas Martin of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as with Jonathan Cohler, well know recitalist and soloist. As a clarinet performance major, Danielle received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2005, and her Master of Music degree in May 2007. An active orchestral musician, Danielle has played with several professional orchestras, including the Boston Philharmonic, Nashua Symphony and Granite State Symphony. In the summer of 2007, Danielle attended the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria
Amy Advocat - Harold Wright Clarinet Merit Award - 2005 Completing her studies at New England Conservatory, Amy received her Bachelor of Music degree with Distinction in Performance in May 2004. She went on to continue her studies at that same institution and received a Master of Music degree in May 2006. Amy's motivation, dedication, and level of accomplishment typify the high standards required of recipients of the Harold Wright Clarinet Merit Award. She was chosen unanimously by a panel of judges comprised of two members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's clarinet section, Thomas Martin and Craig Nordstrom; world-renowned clarinet soloist and recording artist, Richard Stoltzman; and William Wrzesien, chair of New England Conservatory's Woodwind Department. All are members of New England Conservatory's clarinet faculty. We congratulate Amy and wish her continued success.