Claire Cheng, clarinetist

Claire Cheng is a Taiwanese-American clarinetist from Potomac, Maryland and has been playing the clarinet for eleven years. She has been under the tutelage of Arianna McFeaters from (phone number hidden)4 and Dr. Albert Hunt from (phone number hidden)9. Between 2013 and 2019, Claire has been a part of the highly renowned Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras (MCYO), and was Principal Clarinetist of their Young Artists Orchestra from 2014-15, Symphony Orchestra from 2016-17, and their Philharmonic Orchestra from 2018-19. She has also actively played in her county honor bands for three years and state honor bands for five years. In 2016, she was Principal Clarinetist of the Montgomery County Junior Honors Band.

In 2015, Claire won the MTNA Junior Woodwind State Competition in Virginia. Following her state win, she then earned second place at the MTNA Southern Division Junior Woodwind Competition in Tampa, Florida. Claire also won the Asian American Music Society’s International Competition in 2016, and was invited to play as a soloist at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington DC. In 2017, Claire won the NVMTA Woodwind Concerto Competition and the Young Musicians Inspiring Change International Competition.,

Claire received the Semper Fidelis award from the Marine Corps in recognition of her diligence, dedication and musical excellence as a performing high school bandsman and soloist. She continued her clarinet studies with Mary Malek at the University of Pittsburgh, where she recently graduated with a major in Music Performance alongside her additional major in Computational Biology.

Claire has served as principal clarinetist of the University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra since her freshman year of college, and has played in several chamber groups. She has also served as Secretary of the Healing Harmonies Music Therapy Club, which serves to bring the joy of music to patients in hospice and nursing homes. Claire was recently awarded the Mildred Miller Posvar Award by the University of Pittsburgh Music Department for her outstanding performance in music.