David Shifrin

Orchestral Soloist, Recitalists and Chamber Musician

United States

For many years I have worked for consistency with cane reeds, using every commercial brand available and making my own. Having a synthetic material substitute for cane always seemed like science fiction. Only after hearing players like Ricardo Morales and Corrado Giuffredi sound so beautiful on Légère reeds did I decide to give them a try. On Légère reeds, I find that I can produce a sound consistent with an excellent cane reed and that need for scraping and the break in process is eliminated. I am delighted to have my life simplified in this manner with no compromise in quality or ease of playing.

One of only two wind players to have been awarded the Avery Fisher Prize since the award's inception in 1974, Mr. Shifrin is in constant demand as an orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator.

Mr. Shifrin has appeared with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras and the Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Milwaukee, Detroit and Denver symphonies among many others in the US, and internationally with orchestras in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In addition, he has served as principal clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra (under Stokowski), the Honolulu and Dallas symphonies and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and New York Chamber Symphony. Mr. Shifrin has also received critical acclaim as a recitalist, appearing at such venues as Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and the 92nd Street Y in New York City as well as the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. A sought after a chamber musician, he collaborates frequently with such distinguished ensembles and artists as the Guarneri, Tokyo, and Emerson String Quartets, Wynton Marsalis, and pianists Emanuel Ax and André Watts.