After releasing my composition Vienna for strings and oboe, I looked for more instrumentalists to work with. The oboist for Vienna, Lydia Consilvio, recommended Sam Boutris, a clarinetist with whom she had worked. I studied Sam’s catalogue and was impressed by his tone, affect and technical proficiency.
Boutris, a New York based clarinetist with degrees from Curtis and Yale, also holds a position in the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Julliard. Boutris performs regularly as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He won the 2019 Chamber Music Northwest International Clarinet Competition and has a great sense of humor.
For piano, I chose Michelle Lin, a young pianist who I contacted after the release of Vienna. She had the sound and style I was looking for. Lin hails from Vancouver and recently obtained her bachelor of music at the University of Toronto and is now pursuing her masters in music at University of Texas Austin with Anton Nel. Lin performs regularly as a chamber musician and orchestral pianist. She has performed concertos and recitals in North America and Europe and won competitions in Canada. She also speaks five languages.
Thankfully, Sam and Michelle agreed on collaboration and you can hear them playing my composition Tuxedo.
