Anthony McGill, clarinet

Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound, and rich character” (The New York Times), clarinetist Anthony McGill enjoys a dynamic international solo and chamber music career and is principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic – the first African-American principal player in the organization’s history. He is the recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, one of classical music’s most significant awards, and was named Musical America’s 2024 Instrumentalist of the Year.

McGill appears as a soloist with top orchestras, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. In the 2024-25 season, he makes his BBC Proms debut performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Gemma New.

Also this season, McGill embarks on a multi-city tour with Emanuel Ax. He joins the performance and recording project Principal Brothers featuring his brother, Demarre McGill, as well as Titus Underwood and Bryan Young, four leading Black American woodwind principals performing the works of three prominent Black composers: James Lee III, Valerie Coleman, and Errollyn Wallen.

He performed alongside Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. American Stories, his album with the Pacifica Quartet, was nominated for a Grammy. He has been a collaborator of the Miró, Pacifica, Shanghai, and Takács Quartets, and performs with leading artists including Inon Barnatan, Gloria Chien, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang.

He serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School and is Artistic Director for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. He holds the William R. and Hyunah Yu Brody Distinguished Chair at the Curtis Institute of Music.

McGill’s #TakeTwoKnees campaign protesting the death of George Floyd went viral, reaching thousands of individuals. He was invited by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) to perform at the dedication of the National Monument to Freedom. Since 2023, he has partnered with civil rights leader Bryan Stevenson to organize EJI classical music industry convenings examining America’s history of racial inequality in Montgomery, Alabama.

He is a Backun Artist and performs exclusively on Backun Clarinets.