Delaware Clarinet Day

The 6th annual Delaware Clarinet Day is scheduled for Sunday, April 28, 2019, and features and features Yevgeny Dokshansky, Anna Nizhegorodtseva and Catina Sweedy, along with UD's own Christopher Nichols and the Clarinet Ensemble.

Activities for the day will include concerts, master classes, exhibits and performing activities.

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Delaware Clarinet Day 2019 Schedule

All events in Puglisi Orchestra Hall unless otherwise indicated

8:30 a.m. – Registration and Vendor Time
9:30 a.m. – Yevgeny Dokshansky - Master Class
10:30 a.m. – Festival Choir Rehearsal
11:30 a.m. – Lunch
12:30 p.m. – Featured Artist Recital – Gore Recital Hall
2:00 p.m. – Catina Sweedy - Clinic
3:00 p.m. – Festival Choir Rehearsal
4:30 p.m. – UD Clarinet Ensemble and Closing Festival Choir Concert

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Belorussian-born American conductor, saxophonist and clarinetist Yevgeny Dokshansky has appeared as soloist, chamber musician and conductor throughout Europe, North America, Central America and the Caribbean. He is a 1st prize-winner at the Minsk Jazz Competition, 3rd prize-winner at the 2nd International Music of Hope Competition, special prize-winner at the 5th Aginski International Competition of Chamber Music, and two-time Baird Concerto Competition winner on both clarinet and saxophone. Deeply committed to chamber music, he founded the Chicago Q Ensemble, Martin & Dokshansky Duo and Alito Quintet, and he performed as tenor saxophonist from 2004 to 2006 with the Amherst Saxophone Quartet.

He presently holds positions as artistic director and conductor of Ensemble Next Parallel in Washington, D.C. and associate conductor of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra, Southern Maryland Youth Orchestra and Choir and COSMIC Symphony, and he is principal clarinet of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. From 2013 to 2018 Yevgeny held an assistant professor of woodwinds and woodwind studio leader position at the University of Trinidad and Tobago Academy for the Performing Arts where in addition to his teaching responsibilities he also co-directed and performed extensively with Ibis Ensemble – faculty artists-in-residence. While living in Trinidad Yevgeny founded an outreach after-school instrumental music program for the students at Maria Regina Primary School and an annual summer band camp. 

During the summer months, Yevgeny performs and teaches at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. Yevgeny holds degrees from State University of New York at Buffalo, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and DePaul University School of Music. His principal teachers include Edward Yadzinski, Eli Eban, Howard Klug, Eric Hoeprich, Larry Combs, Magnus Martensson and Cliff Colnot.

Yevgeny is an endorsing artist for Légère Reeds. He performs on Leblanc clarinets and Selmer Paris saxophones.  

Russian-born pianist Anna Nizhegorodtseva has garnered prizes in numerous international competitions for piano and for chamber music. Among these are 1st prize from the 17th EUTERPE International Music Competition in Italy, 1st prize at the Lewisville Lake Symphony International Piano Competition in Texas, 2nd prize at the Los Angeles International Bicentennial Liszt Competition, 1st prize at the MTAC in Los Angeles, 2nd prize at the Moscow Chamber Music Competition, and 1st prize in the International Piano Competition in Kiev, Ukraine.

Anna frequently performs in the United States and abroad as a soloist and collaborative pianist. Her performances in the United States, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico, in venues like Carnegie Hall in New York and the American Cathedral in Paris, have been establishing her reputation. In summer 2016 she was invited to the jury of 2016 Xi'an International Music Festival and Competition in China.

Anna began her piano lessons when she was 6 years old; she holds an Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University and Doctoral in Musical Arts from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

In demand as an educator, lecturer and performer, Catina Franklin Sweedy runs The Clarinet Project channel on YouTube and Instagram and is the founder and co-director of the Mason Summer Clarinet Academy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Inspired by her decades of working with children and teens, Catina recently became a program advisor at Embark Center, a self-directed learning hub where members can choose their own educational paths. In addition, Catina is working to expand the pedagogy for young clarinetists through recording beginner compositions and commissioning new works for younger players by women, a woefully underrepresented demographic in clarinet literature.

Catina is a former member of the Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet Orchestra, Florida Sunshine Pops, Prince William Symphony and American Festival Pops Orchestra. She is a past winner of the YWCA Music Club in New York and Matinee Musical Club in Philadelphia solo competitions, and has attended the Casals, Spoleto, Pacific and Bowdoin music festivals. She holds her M.M in Clarinet Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and her B.M. in Clarinet Performance from the Harid (now Lynn) Conservatory of Music. Her teachers include Raoul Querze, Paul Green, David Krakauer, Yehuda Gilad and Ricardo Morales. Catina is a performing artist for D'Addario Woodwinds and Rice Clarinet Works.

As a lecturer, Catina has spoken at George Mason University, the Virginia Homeschoolers Conference, Minefaire, and the Alternative Education Resource Organization Conference about subjects as diverse as running a successful music studio, why pop songs are so catchy, and how video games aren't ruining kids' lives. She lives in Woodbridge, Virginia with her husband, two children, cats, guinea pigs, pet snake and too many tropical fish tanks.

Christopher Nichols joined the faculty of the University of Delaware as assistant professor of clarinet in 2013 where he instructs undergraduate and graduate applied clarinet, clarinet ensemble, chamber music, pedagogy and literature, and annually hosts Delaware Clarinet Day. As an artist clinician, Dr. Nichols has recently appeared at Rutgers University, the Crane School of Music at SUNY-Potsdam, the University of Maryland and the University of Southern Mississippi. Dedicated to the cultivation of clarinetists of all ages, Dr. Nichols has served on the faculty of the Delaware Governor’s School of Excellence and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan, and maintains a private studio. Dr. Nichols’ students have found success in competitions, won positions in military bands and serve as music educators.

As a Légère Reeds Endorsing Artist and a Buffet Artist Clinician, Dr. Nichols performs exclusively on Légère Signature Series reeds and Buffet clarinets. Additional information is available at his website.