Artist description
Gary Dranch - New York-based soloist, freelance artist, and educator. Specializes in contemporary music. Frequent recitalist and chamber music performer. Has commissioned and premiered several works for clarinet from composers such as Daniel Wolff, John Bavicchi, Elliott Schwartz, and Craig Morris. Education: DMA (1981) U-I at U-C. MM (1977) UNC-G. BM (1975) Eastman School of Music.

REVIEWS: =======
THE 20TH CENTURY CLARINET CONCERTO – Gary Dranch MS1180 "Dranch performs [the Wolff] beautifully with an ease and effortless quality that matches the style of the work exquisitely. The string ensemble is clear, clean and crisp throughout. Dranch's sound is amazingly dark and without edge even in the altissimo. Dranch's perfect intonation and control in the slow sections [in the Bavicchi] is notable and the performance by soloist and orchestra alike is admirable...[Hindemith's Concerto] is a welcome conclusion to this CD...Dranch is highly musical throughout...He seems keenly aware of the neoclassical influence, and injects them in his interpretation. Dranch is precise and reserved...The orchestra is immaculately clean throughout this work. I recommend this recording as a worthy addition to the contemporary clarinetist's audio library....there is something for everyone here, and then some. Gary Dranch is supremely adept at handling the technical and musical challenges that arise in these works."
The Clarinet, March 2007

'Buenos Aires Herald' - March 23, 2005 by Pablo Bardin: "[...... The excellent US clarinettist Gary Dranch made his local debut last year and was certainly a very proficient player. ...]"

‘CLASSICAL GUITAR’ magazine - April 2002, page 43, by Tim Panting. "“[…] after hearing this recently Grammy-nominated recording I am of the opinion that [Wolff's] talents are very impressive. The arrangements, performances and compositions here are bursting with a confidence and exuberance that puts this CD in the top range of discs you are likely to hear in a long time. […] Wolff's Clarinet concerto again exploits the sonorities of the woodwinds. The soloist has much wonderful material to work with and the orchestral players never want for lack of brightly hued washes of colour. This disc can be listened to all through at one sitting and equally delved into to savour the individual pieces. It is one of the most satisfying recordings I have heard in a long time”.

‘THE CLARINET’ journal – June 2001, page 18: “Audio Notes” by William Nichols. “I am pleased to have received a disc from clarinetist Gary Dranch entitled Concerto a Brasileira, which presents Brazilian guitarist and composer Daniel Wolff. […] All of these works are in collaboration with the Chamber Orchestra of Ulbra conducted by Tiago Flores. Additionally, one of most interest to our readers, the disc concludes with a new Concerto for clarinet and string orchestra by Daniel Wolff. The clarinetist here is New York based Gary Dranch, who commissioned the work and played the premiere performances in Porto Alegre, Brazil in April of last year with the orchestra presented on this disc. At the request of Gary Dranch the Concerto is in Brazilian style. This three-movement 26-minute work is traditional in structure as well as in tonal language, and is melodically appealing. It is not a big virtuoso concerto, as has come our way in recent years, but it has a direct and gentle sweetness about it which captures the Brazilian spirit. It is a lovely, straightforward musical expression for clarinet and string chamber orchestra, and a welcome addition to the repertory. The performance from soloist and orchestra is first-rate. Gary Dranch performs with several metropolitan New York orchestras and has made appearances in recital and as an orchestral soloist. He holds the D.M.A. degree from the University of Illinois. Gary possesses one of the darkest, most even and beautifully colored tones I have heard on digital discs lately. His technique is clean and smooth, and his approach, most appropriately in this piece, is unforced. He is in control at all times. The recorded string sound is close-up, somewhat on the dry side, but intimate and quite effective. The balance needs to favor the clarinet a bit more, but the engineers have very successfully captured the clarinet timbre. The production of this disc was supported by several government entities and private institutions and bears no label name. Program notes and biographical information are in Portuguese and English. This CD is available at the Tower Records location at 66th Street and Broadway, New York City, and from Luthier Music Corp., http://www.luthiermusic.com. In Brazil, this CD is available at Modern Sound Mega Music Store. Good Listening!”

Press reviews of the CD ‘The Brazilian Concerto’: (translations from Spanish or Portuguese)

ELDORADO MAGAZINE, No.7 / Buenos Aires, Argentina - Fall 2001: [Excerpt from CD review by Leandro Suarez: “This CD is undeniable proof of the musical richness that can be found in South America, from the hands of musicians of great worth such as Brazilian guitarist Daniel Wolff. […] The CD closes with Daniel Wolff’s exceptional Clarinet Concerto, whose rhythms remain in the mind of the listener even several minutes after the music has finished. Gary Dranch’s wonderful interpretation is worth noting, as is his interest in expanding the repertoire of the instrument by commissioning works of such rich melodic and rhythmic qualities. A most beautiful CD, which demonstrates faithfully the music of South America and the excellent quality of its interpreters.”.] - Highest rating: three quarter-notes.

Tribuna da Imprensa / Rio de Janeiro – December 13, 2000: [Excerpt: “The end of the CD highlights Daniel Wolff again as creator. This is achieved through the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, a work dedicated to American clarinetist Gary Dranch, who performs it brilliantly”.]

Violao Intercambio #45 / Sao Paulo – January/February, 2000: [Excerpt: “The last work on the CD is his [Daniel Wolff’s] Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, with Gary Dranch as soloist, an extremely beautiful work, transparent throughout its span and played with mastery by this excellent clarinetist.”]

ABC Domingo – February 18, 2001: [Excerpt: “To close the CD, also in three movements, the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra by Daniel Wolff, with the American clarinetist Gary Dranch”.]

The Opinion, Brazil: “A top-ranking guitarist. He commands the instrument in all its subtleties and technical complexities. His Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra [is] a wonderful work, developed with the competence of a master. Congratulations, Daniel, continue performing, composing, and arranging. Your work is already a part of our history”.

Review of Gary Dranch’s New York debut recital at Merkin Concerto Hall on November 19, 1990:

“Strings” - May-June 1991: by Edith Eisler. [Excerpt: “Clarinetist Gary Dranch invited a large group of friends to participate in his debut, […], a wise choice, enabling him to play an interesting, varied program and to demonstrate his affinity for many styles, as well as his talents as a chamber musician.[…] In Martinu’s Sonata[sic!] there was fine ensemble, and the work’s charm and characteristic rhythmic quirkiness came through very well. For Mozart’s Trio K.498, they were joined by violist Jacob Glick for an expressive, warm performance. […] For the final piece, with violinist Katherine LiVolsi and cellist Michael Finckel, was Jean Francaix’s Quintet, a fun piece, full of mischief and charm.[…]”

Clarinetist Gary Dranch, who holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializes in contemporary music. His educational background was formed at The Eastman School of Music as a student of Stanley Hasty, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Clarinet Performance. He subsequently obtained his Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

A native New Yorker, Dranch currently performs with the Greenwich Village Orchestra among others. He has given recitals in the Bruno Walter Auditorium, Merkin Hall (where he gave his New York debut in 1990), Donnell Library, ‘The Atrium’ at CitiCorp Center, and Loeb Center at New York University. Dr. Dranch has appeared as soloist with the Bronx Symphony, Centre Symphony, Broadway Bach Ensemble, and New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble. In Brazil, he has appeared as soloist with the Sao Pedro Chamber Orchestra, OSPA, and The Chamber Orchestra of ULBRA. Dranch has dedicated much of his career to expanding the clarinet repertoire, and has commissioned or had works written for him by such composers as Elliott Schwartz, Daniel Wolff, Peter Hazzard and John Bavicchi. Dr. Dranch performed the Wolff Concerto on a CD entitled “The Brazilian Concerto” which was nominated for a Grammy in the Category, Best Soloist with Orchestral Accompaniment in 2001. William Nichols of THE CLARINET journal wrote (June 2001): "...Gary possesses one of the darkest, most even and beautifully colored tones I have heard on digital discs lately. His technique is clean and smooth, and his approach, most appropriately in this piece, is unforced. He is in control at all times."

Dr. Dranch was a clinician and soloist at the Fifth International Music Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he performed the clarinet concertos of Daniel Wolff and Craig Morris with the Festival Orchestra. He appeared as soloist with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra with guest conductor Arkady Leytush in a performance of the Hindemith Clarinet Concerto at the Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2003. In 2006, John Bavicchi composed a work for Dranch, entitled “Tomorrow will be Today”, opus 126, a Double Concerto for Clarinet, Soprano and Mixed Ensemble, which was premiered at the Lawrence Academy of Music in Groton, MA in June 2008. Dr. Dranch was an invited performer at the International Clarinet Association in Vancouver, Canada in July 2007. He served as a clarinet faculty member of "AMEROPA", a summer chamber music festival in Prague, The Czech Republic, from 2005-2007.

Dranch's first solo CD was released in 2006 on MSR Classics label, entitled "The Twentieth Century Clarinet Concerto", which contains the clarinet concertos of Hindemith, Bavicchi and Wolff. ‘The Clarinet’ review which appeared in March 2007 concluded: “I recommend this recording as a worthy addition to the contemporary clarinetist’s audio library…there is something for everyone here, and then some. Gary Dranch is supremely adept at handling the technical and musical challenges that arise in these works”. A new CD, “Tomorrow Will Be Today,” commemorating Bavicchi’s 85th birthday, features Dr. Dranch performing the title work as well as Peter Hazzard’s “Three Scenic Moods, Opus 75, for Clarinet and Piano Quintet. It was released on BKJ Publications label in September 2008. Dr. Dranch was an invited guest soloist of the Filarmonica Brasov in Romania, where he performed the Carl Nielsen Clarinet Concerto on April 30, 2009.