Q&A: Anthony McGill (Clarinet ’00)

The Curtis clarinetist talks about championing new works, teaching through example, and campaigning for social change

Read the Q&A HERE.
By Brian Wise

Anthony McGill (Clarinet ’00), Curtis’s William R. and Hyunah Yu Brody Distinguished Chair and principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, is motivated by an abiding belief in music’s broader societal resonance. Winner of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize and Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, Mr. McGill spoke with Overtones about touring with Anthony Davis’s You Have the Right to Remain Silent, activism through his instrument, balancing a full-time orchestral job, performances, and teaching at Curtis and Juilliard, and more.

From the Fall 2023 Issue