Delaware Clarinet Day

School of Music

Closeup photo of hands holding a clarinet in play

2025 Delaware Clarinet Day

April 12, 2025

The 9th Annual Delaware Clarinet Day will occur on Saturday, April 12, 2025. This year’s event features guest artists clarinetists José Gómez, Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire, Josh Snively, Andrew Dickinson, Wes Rice, and pianist Julie Nishimura. Clarinet Day is proudly presented by Christopher Nichols, the UD Clarinet Ensemble, and the UD Registered Student Organization Clarinet Connoisseurs.

Activities for the day will include a clarinet choir reading session, a master class, a lunchtime Q&A with the UD Clarinet Studio, a presentation, exhibits with instrument and accessory trials, and concerts.

Click Here to Register

Registration is free - Optional lunch, party-sub and a beverage, is $10.

Delaware CLARINET Day 2025 Schedule

All events are in Puglisi Orchestra Hall unless otherwise indicated.

10:00 AM - Check-in/Vendor Time - Puglisi Orchestra Hall Lobby

10:45 AM - Presentation by Wesley Rice

11:30 AM - Lunchtime Q&A with the UD Clarinet Studio

12:30 PM - Guest Artist Recital – José Gómez and Julie Nishimura - Gore Recital Hall

1:30 PM - Vendor Time - Puglisi Orchestra Hall Lobby

2:00 PM - Clarinet Choir Reading Session

3:00 PM - Master Class with José Gómez

4:00 PM - Closing Concert featuring Alumni of the UD Clarinet Studio and the UD Clarinet Ensemble

José Gómez

José Gómez is recognized as one of the most active and sought-after clarinetists on the Latin American music scene, recognized for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He has built an outstanding career as a soloist and chamber musician, while also earning wide recognition for his distinguished pedagogical work.

He is a member of La Sociedad Ensamble, Tres Palos Ensamble, Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Bogotá, Ensamble CG, and the Nueva Filarmonía Orchestra. Additionally, he serves as a professor at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (ASAB), and Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where his students have received awards in prestigious national and international competitions. He is also the founder of the Bogotá International Clarinet Festival, Claribogotá.

José has performed recitals, concerts, and masterclasses in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, and the United States. He has served as assistant principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, guest principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, and has collaborated with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, the Pittsburgh Opera Theater Orchestra, and the Banda Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, among others.

His discography includes recordings dedicated to the works of composers from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Universidad Distrital, as well as productions for the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Ensamble CG, Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Bogotá, and the Nueva Filarmonía Orchestra, with which he won a Latin Grammy Award in 2019 for Best Classical Album. His entrepreneurial and creative spirit led him to record his first solo album, featuring unpublished works by Colombian composers, in collaboration with pianist Diego Claros. The album is set to be released in 2025.

José Gómez holds a Master of Music degree and an Artist Diploma from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh (USA), a Specialization in Performance from the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Salamanca (Spain), and a Bachelor’s degree from the Conservatory of Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá.

Born in Popayán-Colombia, he began his musical training at an early age under the guidance of his father, Javier Gómez, and in the Timbío-Cauca Wind Band, directed by Maestro Manuel Collazos.

José Gómez is an artist of the prestigious French brand Buffet-Crampon.

José Gómez

Biography

Julie Nishimura
Biography

Julie Nishimura

Pianist Julie Nishimura was the University of Delaware School of Music’s Faculty Accompanist for 31 years, having performed over 600 recitals, chamber music concerts and opera performances, and, in addition, teaching the Accompanying Classes. During that time, she was also a Staff Collaborative Artist for Philadelphia’s Strings International Music Festival, now Philadelphia International Music Festival, and, for 20 years, San Francisco-based California Summer Music. Since retirement, she has stayed active as a freelance collaborative artist, enjoying a variety of projects, including work as a rehearsal pianist for Berkeley’s West Edge Opera and Wilmington’s Opera Delaware; guest artist for the Gold Coast Chamber Players and The Allegheny Ensemble; and Faculty Pianist at Ohio’s Encore Chamber Music Institute since 2022. She can often be seen jumping in at the last minute for rehearsals and recitals! For over twenty years she has been Artistic Director for Wilmington, Delaware’s non-profit, Distant Voices Touring Theatre, which she started with her late husband Danny Peak, performing a theatrical show underscored with piano music about her father’s time in the Japanese American Concentration Camps of WWII. Julie has enjoyed recording projects with friends Denise Tryon, horn; Christopher Nichols, clarinet; Sheila Browne, viola; and can be heard on the Bridge, Albany and Navona labels. Currently, she divides her time between the San Francisco Bay Area, playing in The Class Act Big Band, Classical Revolution SF, and in coffee shops as “Classical Lites with Jewels”, and the East Coast.

Julie Nishimura

Biography

Wesley Rice
Biography

Wesley Rice

Wesley Rice holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Clarinet Performance and a Master of Music degree from West Virginia University in Clarinet Performance. He was awarded the assistantship for clarinet and aural theory from West Virginia University and the Martha and William Bill Memorial Prize for Woodwinds from the Peabody Institute.

Wesley has been restoring, repairing, and maintaining woodwind instruments, mainly clarinets, since 2003. He has repaired the clarinets of many symphony and freelance clarinetists from across the country and around the world. Wesley has restored clarinets for members of the Navy Band, Naval Academy Band, and Marine Band. He also performs repairs and overhauls for students from The Peabody Conservatory, West Virginia University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Ithaca College, and their surrounding areas.

From 2009 to 2010, Wesley worked with Conn-Selmer (Leblanc) as a professional clarinet tester in Elkhart, Indiana. Currently, Wesley resides in Princess Anne, Maryland, where he runs his clarinet repair/restoration and parts manufacture business full-time.

Wesley Rice

Biography

Andrew Dickinson
Biography

Andrew Dickinson

Andrew Dickinson is a freelance clarinetist and private teacher originally from Harrisburg, PA. He currently teaches at the Music School of Delaware in Wilmington, DE and performs in the Northern Delaware and Pennsylvania Region. Recent performances include the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra, the Newark Symphony, and the Philadelphia Wind Symphony. Andrew earned an M.M. in Music Performance from the University of Delaware and a B.A. in Music from Susquehanna University.

Andrew Dickinson

Biography

Joshua Snively
Biography

Joshua Snively

Josh Snively is a clarinetist and instrument repairman based on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. There, he works as a Clarinet Technician and Specialist for Rice Clarinet Works, a clarinet shop specializing in high-end clarinet repairs, sales and manufacturing. He is also the principal clarinetist of the Southern Delaware Orchestra, and teaches private lessons out of his home in Princess Anne, MD.

He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Clarinet Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a likewise Master of Music from the University of Delaware. At UD, he was awarded the Woodwind Chamber Group Fellowship, which further facilitated Josh’s continued studies. From 2018-2022, he served in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 553d Band of the Northeast as a musician and their music librarian. Throughout his studies and performance career, Josh accumulated knowledge in his repair craft as well as composition/arranging, film scoring and music production. His pieces have been featured in programs at International Conferences and University Recitals, and he has released multiple albums of instrumental music on all streaming platforms, under his name. His biggest musical project yet, has been scoring and producing music to the film, Black Castles, which premieres in June 2025.

Joshua Snively

Biography

Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire
Biography

Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire

Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire is a clarinetist, teacher and conductor based in Wilmington, DE. She is on the clarinet faculty at the Music School of Delaware and is a clarinet Teaching Artist for Play on Philly. Previously, she taught at the University of Delaware for Dr. Christopher Nichols as his sabbatical replacement in Spring 2024. She is currently ABD as a DMA candidate at UNC Greensboro studying clarinet performance. Prior to moving to Delaware, her private teaching appointments were at the UNCSA Community Music School in Winston-Salem, NC, Upbeat Music Company in Lewisville, NC and St. Mary’s Music Academy in High Point, NC. Joanna currently serves as the Delaware State Chair for the International Clarinet Association.

In addition to her work as a clarinet instructor, Joanna is also an active performer. She has played with the Newark Symphony Orchestra, Wilmington Community Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Greensboro Opera, Piedmont Wind Symphony and Charleston Symphony Orchestra. Joanna has performed at international and national conferences including the International Clarinet Association’s “ClarinetFest,” The College Music Society’s National and International Conferences, The North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, The North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, the American Single Reed Summit, and Sigma Alpha Iota’s Annual National Conference. A champion of new music, Joanna has commissioned and been part consortiums for composers such as Jenni Brandon, Theresa Martin, Mikhail Johnson, Brian Nabors, Jessica Mays, John Russell, Robin McLaughlin, Megan DiGeorgio, Pax Ressler, Joshua Weitz and Dalton Regnier.

In 2020, Joanna completed a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Clarinet Performance from UNC Greensboro studying with Dr. Andy Hudson and Dr. Anthony Taylor. Joanna received M.M. degrees in Clarinet and Wind Conducting Performance in 2018 from the University of Delaware (UD) where she studied with Dr. Christopher Nichols, Dr. Lauren Reynolds, Dr. Chad Nicholson, and Dr. Michael Knight. Prior to returning to school for her Master’s, Joanna was a middle school band director at Seaford Middle School in Seaford, DE. She also received her B.M. in Music Education from UD in 2014. During her time at UD, Joanna served as the principal clarinetist of both the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, along with conducting the UD Collegiate Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Clarinet Ensemble.

Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire

Biography

Sponsors:

Thank you to the following sponsors for allowing us to offer this event to the public at no charge!

University of Delaware Community Music School

University of Delaware School of Music

University Faculty Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs and Public Engagement

Directions

All events will occur in:

Puglisi Orchestra Hall (Puglisi) and Gore Recital Hall (Gore)

The best GPS address to get to this area of campus: 101 Carroll Ct, Newark, DE 19711

PARKING: The CFA parking garage is nearby or street parking is available.

Please do not hesitate to ask for directions. UD Clarinet Faculty and Students will be around and are glad to help guide you to your desired location!