Jon Kimura Parker, Aloysia Friedmann & Richie Hawley

“What an amazing way to mark the 100th anniversary of The Rite of Spring. Stunning!” These words from the Toronto Star echoed glowing reviews across North America for Jon Kimura Parker’s CD, Rite, which includes world premiere recordings of his solo piano transcriptions of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Petrouchka. Parker’s most recent CD Fantasy has garnered similar praise from Classical Candor: “The reading is riveting. I can’t remember when this work so engrossed me. Parker scores with another favorite recording of the year.”

A veteran of the international concert stage, Jon Kimura Parker has performed as guest soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Wolfgang Sawallisch in Carnegie Hall, toured Europe with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Andre Previn, and shared the stage with Jessye Norman at Berlin’s Philharmonie. Conductors he has recently worked with include Teddy Abrams, Pablo Heras-Cassado, Claus Peter Flor, Hans Graf, Jeffrey Kahane, Carlos Kalmar, Peter Oundjian, Larry Rachleff, Xu Zhong and Pinchas Zukerman. A true Canadian ambassador of music, Mr. Parker has given command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Japan. He is an Officer of The Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian honor.

​There are those who define their instrument and those who are defined by their instrument. Richie Hawley, a musician whose name has become a byword for exceptional clarinet playing, is among the distinguished former group. Richie is one of the most celebrated clarinetists of his generation, a sought-after recitalist and chamber musician who regularly appears on stages around the world. During his 17 years as principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Richie made an indelible mark on the institution. Hailed by the Cincinnati Enquirer as “an example of the real virtuosity that lies within the [CSO’s] ranks” and praised for possessing the “seamless flowing tone so many clarinetists long for and few can achieve,” he has wowed audiences and critics with his technique and velvety tone. Richie has also left his mark on recorded classical music, appearing on dozens of albums with the CSO. With many of the 60+ TELARC recordings by the CSO and Cincinnati Pops during his tenure featuring major solos of the clarinet repertoire, Richie’s memorable playing has been frequently singled out. American Record Guide hailed his "gorgeous" solo in Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 as "the crowning achievement" of the CSO’s recording with Maestro Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

Richie is as much an educator as he is a performer, a leader of his own generation who is dedicated to inspiring future ones. In 2011, Richie left the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and moved to Houston, Texas to become the Professor of Clarinet at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. During the summer months he is in residence as a faculty artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, one of the premiere summer festivals for exceptionally talented musicians. His public clarinet masterclasses are among the best attended at the Music Academy, where students and audiences alike are drawn to his impeccable musicianship and charming, seemingly effortless teaching style. Richie’s students have gone on to win positions in the National Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many others.