Thomas Reed, clarinet

A frequent performer for Ashland audiences, Thomas Reed is Principal Clarinetist of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra.  He is also a member of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, performing regularly as bass clarinetist and also on clarinet and saxophone.  Dr. Reed is Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department at Ashland University, where he has taught since 1984.  He currently teaches courses in clarinet, saxophone, woodwind pedagogy, and arranging, and was director of the Ashland University Jazz Ensemble for 16 years.  At Ashland he has performed annual solo recitals since 1984, including premier performances of several works. 

Dr. Reed holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet from the Ohio State University, where he studied clarinet with James Pyne and jazz with Hank Marr.  He also holds the Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Michigan, where he studied saxophone with Donald Sinta, and the Master of Music in saxophone and clarinet from the University of Akron, where his teachers included David Bell (clarinet), George Pope (flute), and Richard Shanklin (saxophone). 

He has performed since 2001 as a substitute saxophonist for the Cleveland Orchestra, has served as bass clarinetist and Principal Saxophone with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and was a member of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra for 5 years. Reed appears on CDs from the Akron Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and the Paul Ferguson Jazz Orchestra.  He performs frequently in pit orchestras throughout the area, and has performed in backup orchestras for a wide range of entertainers including Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, David Sanborn, Maynard Ferguson, Mel Torme, Red Skelton, The Temptations, and Natalie Cole. 

This will be Dr. Reed's eighth appearance as soloist with the Ashland Symphony, having performed Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto, Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations for clarinet, Weber’s Concertino, Piazzolla’s Oblivion, and his own orchestration of Benny Goodman selections.  He also was soloist with the Mansfield Symphony, performing Villa Lobos’ Fantasia for saxophone and orchestra, and saxophone and clarinet soloist with the Akron Symphony, performing concert jazz works by Duke Ellington and David Baker.  He lives in Ashland with his wife Jane, also a member of the Ashland Symphony, and their children Marian and Charles.