Gregory Oakes

Assistant Professor in Clarinet

Gregory Oakes is one of the most exciting and energetic clarinetists of his generation. From his Carnegie Hall debut with members of Ensemble Intercontemporain and Pierre Boulez to his performances as a member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Oakes has been praised by critics for his “outstanding performance“ (New York Times) and “jazzy flourishes“ (Denver Post). He is a founding member of the new music and creative arts ensemble Non Sequitur, which was heralded by New Music Connoisseur as “utterly sensational.“ In a performance with Non Sequitur, the Aspen Daily News highlighted him as a “particularly outstanding musician.“ Non Sequitur has been in residence at Princeton University, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, and the Aspen Music Festival.

A flexible and versatile musician, Mr. Oakes has performed with notable musicians in prestigious venues around the world. He has been a concerto soloist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Denver Brass, performed with Grammy® Award-winner Terence Blanchard at the Telluride Jazz Festival, and played at Amsterdam's venerable new music hall, De IJsbreker. He has given solo performances at the International Computer Music Conference, Amsterdam's Gaudeamus International Interpreters' Competition, the International Clarinet Association Conference, the Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, Boulder's Modern Music Festival (M2F), Colorado Music Festival's Young Artist Series, and the Pendulum New Music Series. Mr. Oakes's recordings have been released on Bridge, CRI, Gothic, Karnatic Lab Records, and Naxos and broadcast on National Public Radio.

Mr. Oakes has been a member of several orchestras including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Central City Opera, Colorado Music Festival, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Mr. Oakes has performed as a member of the woodwind quintet Category 5, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet, and the award-winning clarinet quartet Ensemble Syzygy.

Mr. Oakes holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University, a master's degree from DePaul University, and a doctorate from the University of Colorado. His teachers include Bil Jackson, Keith Lemmons, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, and John Bruce Yeh. He has been honored as a Tanglewood Music Festival Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar Finalist, and an Aspen Music Festival Fellow. Mr. Oakes has presented masterclasses at such institutions as Michigan State University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of New Mexico, University of Colorado, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has previously taught at the University of Souther Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS), Bemidji State University (Bemidji, MN) and Regis University (Denver, CO). Mr. Oakes is on the faculty of Iowa State University (Ames, IA).

Gregory Oakes is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist.