JESSE GILDAY

Jesse Gilday’s clarinet playing has been described as “carefully and beautifully shaped” and “precise” by the South Florida Classical Review. Originally from Troy, NY, Dr. Gilday performs in Florida with the New World Symphony, Symphony of the Americas, Miami Lyric Opera, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, The Villages Philharmonic Orchestra, and numerous chamber ensembles following his time in New York City as a freelance clarinetist.  He performed on the 2018 Latin Grammy-nominated Sony Latin recording of Jorge Mejia’s An Open Book: A Memoir in Music. He has also performed with Emmy-winning House of Cards composer Jeff Beal and trumpet player Arturo Sandoval. Dr. Gilday has played at International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest on multiple occasions, this summer premiering works for clarinet and bass clarinet with Frost Duo colleague Claire Grellier of Four Play Clarinet. He is a past finalist in the ICA Orchestral Audition Competition.

Dr. Gilday is the clarinetist for the NODUS Ensemble, the contemporary chamber music ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University, where he is clarinet faculty. He is a teaching artist at Miami Music Project, a non-profit educational organization inspired by the Venezuelan program El Sistema, which advocates social change through music. During the summer, Dr. Gilday also serves as faculty at Killington Music Festival in Vermont, clarinetist for Coyote Creek Music Festival in California, and regularly performs at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest.

Dr. Gilday holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Miami – Frost School of Music, where he was a Henry Mancini fellow and served as the clarinet teaching assistant. He also holds degrees from New York University, Baylor University, and Gordon College. Dr. Gilday’s research includes the clarinet works of Henri Tomasi, spatialization in music, and contemporary performance practice. His clarinet teachers include Margaret Donaghue Flavin, Pascual Martinez-Forteza, Richard Shanley, Alan Olson, William Kirkley, and Dennis Smylie. Dr. Gilday is also a five-time world-qualifying Irish dancer and site director of the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance – Miami.