Principal Clarinet
William Amsel is the principal clarinetist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, appointed by Music Director JoAnn Falletta during the 2017-2018 season. Before joining the BPO, he was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Opera Orchestra, and principal clarinet of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed with many orchestras across the country, including as guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and Oregon Symphony. He performs regularly as soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and as a chamber musician has appeared with the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Marlboro Music Festival, Cape Symphony Cosmos Sessions, First Monday at Jordan Hall, and the Borromeo String Quartet, among many others.
Born and raised in Texas, Amsel is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and received a master’s degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. His primary teachers were Ricardo Morales, Thomas Martin, and Ilya Shterenberg. As a student he spent two summers as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he was awarded the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize, and was also a fellow at the Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Aspen Music Festival, and New York String Orchestra Seminar. He is currently on faculty at the University at Buffalo, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses throughout western New York, the US, and internationally. He lives in Amherst, NY with his wife, BPO bassoonist Natalya Rose Vrbsky, and their two daughters.