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Full Biography

(500 words)

Clarinetist Rié Suzuki made her Tokyo debut as a winner of the Japan Clarinet Association Emerging Artists Recital Series while still a student at Musashino Academia Musicae. Since then, she has built an international career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician, and educator, with performances and teaching across Asia, Europe, North America, and Central America.

Suzuki is a tenured member of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and serves as principal clarinet of The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Ballet, Opera Philadelphia, The Philly Pops, and many other ensembles. Recent solo highlights include Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K. 622 with the University of Central Florida Symphony Orchestra, the co-premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Clarinet Concerto “Nekudim” (wind ensemble edition) with the Rowan University Wind Ensemble, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds with the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra.

Her collaborations and tours include a recital series with the Poulenc Trio in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., a U.S. Embassy–sponsored tour of Central America with Liberty Winds, a national tour of Star Wars in Concert, and a concert tour of China performing at the Lianhuashan Music Festival in Shenzhen. Festival appearances include AIMS in Graz (Austria),  Apple Hill, the  Aspen, Kusatsu (Japan), Northern Lights, the Princeton Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. In 2025 she presented a lecture recital, Japanese Clarinet Compositions from the Postwar Period to the 21st Century: Transcending Cultures, Genres, and Traditions, at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest® in Fort Worth, Texas.

Suzuki’s performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York), including the McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, WRTI (Philadelphia), and podcasts from the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.). She has also appeared as a guest speaker on WITF (Harrisburg) for Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps and on Nicaraguan National Television.

Her discography includes recordings with Capstone Records (with soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson),  New World Records with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Centaur Records with the Tripod Trio,  Naxos Records with the Philadelphia Philharmonia under JoAnn Falletta, and Warner Brothers (with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia). Her most recent release,  Threes by Maurice Wright, appeared in 2020 on BCM&D Records.

Suzuki earned both her doctorate and graduate performance degree from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where she was awarded the Orchestral Fellowship and twice received the Peabody Career Grant. Her principal teachers include Loren Kitt, Robert Coleman, Yuji Murai, and Tadao Funahashi, with chamber music guidance from Samuel Sanders and Mark Sparks.

A devoted educator, Suzuki was appointed Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2024. At UCF, she teaches applied clarinet, clarinet studio seminars, woodwind techniques, woodwind literature and pedagogy, and woodwind chamber music. She also directs the UCF Clarinet Ensemble and organizes both the annual UCF Clarinet Day and the Clarinet Summer Camp. Prior to joining UCF, she was on the faculty at Rowan University, where she received the 2024 AFT Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Academic Instruction and was a finalist for the 11th Annual Ovation Award for Inspiration and Outstanding Leadership in Music Education.

Medium Biography

(250 words)

Clarinetist Rié Suzuki made her Tokyo debut as a winner of the Japan Clarinet Association Emerging Artists Recital Series while studying at Musashino Academia Musicae. She has since established an international career as a soloist, recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician, and educator, with performances and teaching across Asia, Europe, North America, and Central America.

Suzuki is a tenured member of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and principal clarinet of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra. She has also performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Ballet, Opera Philadelphia, The Philly Pops, and other ensembles. Recent solo appearances include Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, K. 622 with the University of Central Florida Symphony Orchestra, the co-premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Clarinet Concerto “Nekudim” (wind ensemble edition) with the Rowan University Wind Ensemble, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds with the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra.

Her collaborations include performances with the Poulenc Trio, a U.S. Embassy–sponsored tour of Central America with Liberty Winds, a national tour of Star Wars in Concert, and a concert tour of China. Festival appearances include AIMS in Graz (Austria), Aspen, Apple Hill, Kusatsu (Japan), Northern Lights, Princeton, and Sarasota. Her performances have been featured on WQXR (New York), WRTI (Philadelphia), and the National Gallery of Art podcast.

Suzuki’s recordings appear on Capstone, New World, Centaur, Naxos, Warner Brothers, and BCM&D Records. She earned her doctorate from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where she held the Orchestral Fellowship and twice received the Peabody Career Grant.

In 2024, Suzuki was appointed Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Central Florida, where she teaches, directs the UCF Clarinet Ensemble, and organizes both UCF Clarinet Day and the Clarinet Summer Camp.

Short Biography

(110 words)

Clarinetist Rié Suzuki has appeared internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer across Asia, Europe, North America, and Central America. She is a tenured member of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and principal clarinet of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, with additional performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Philly Pops, and others. Festival appearances include Aspen, AIMS in Graz (Austria), Kusatsu (Japan), Apple Hill, and Sarasota. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York) and WRTI (Philadelphia), and her recordings appear on Naxos, Centaur, New World, Capstone, Warner Brothers, and BCM&D Records. She is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Central Florida.