Clarinet
Our clarinet program offers a collaborative studio environment for weekly lessons, master classes of solo, chamber, and orchestral excerpt study, and reed making with clarinet reed room access. Students work closely with master teacher Richard Hawkins, who since 1990 has developed some of the most notable performers and teachers in the field of clarinet today.

Program Facts
- Program Type: Major, Performance Diploma, Artist Diploma
-
- Bachelor of Music (BM)
- Performance Diploma (PDip)
- Artist Diploma (ADip)
- Division: Winds, Brass, and Percussion
Division Director
Michael Rosen,Professor of Percussion
Contact
- Richard Hawkins, Professor of Clarinet
- 440-775-8234
- Richard.Hawkins@oberlin.edu
Quick Links
Time to Play
We place first-year students among returning students equally and fairly within the sections of all ensembles. We nurture them in a collaborative studio environment to inspire personal growth and development. Through orchestral, chamber music, jazz, improvisational, and historical through contemporary music for the clarinet, we encourage versatility and provide immense breadth of experience.

Clarinet Faculty
Conservatory faculty maintain active performance schedules while remaining accessible and committed to their students. Individual instruction is paramount to helping students develop their mechanical, technical, stylistic, psychological, and musical skills.
“Preparing students for today’s music field is ever-changing. Oberlin provides an atmosphere of growth and preparation for my undergraduate students to expand their musical knowledge. It is my aim to present traditional and modern teaching methods to prepare each individual to find their career path while promoting a healthy and happy environment to work with their peers.”
Richard Hawkins, Professor of Clarinet
Clarinet News
Oberlin Alumni Win Grammys at 63rd Annual Awards Ceremony
March 15, 2021
Alumni Connections Series Welcomes Victoria Theodore ’89 and Peter Flint ’92
February 15, 2021
Concerto Competition Winners Take Center Stage in April, May
March 29, 2018
Life After Oberlin
Clarinet and double-degree graduates are prepared to pursue professional music careers as soloists or with a range of ensembles—from major orchestras to contemporary chamber groups; many earn principal appointments. Others work in schools, conservatories, and in all facets of society.
Notable Oberlin Alumni
Benjamin Chen ’18
Principal Clarinet, Kennedy Center Opera House (Washington, D.C.)
Lin Ma ’11
Principal Clarinet, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.)
Boris Allakhverdyan ’06
Principal Clarinet, Los Angeles Philharmonic