Loren Kitt

Principal Clarinetist Loren Kitt is a native of Washington State and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Before joining the National Symphony Orchestra in 1970, he performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic and served as principal clarinetist of the Milwaukee Symphony from 1966 until 1969. He has been professor of music at the Oberlin Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. Among Mr. Kitt's solo performances are the Washington premieres of Roque Codero's Mansaje Funebre and Messaien's La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ, performances of the Copland Clarinet Concerto (with Copland conducting), Debussy's Rhapsody for Clarinet, and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major. Mr. Kitt, who was a featured artist at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in 1976, has also been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He is frequently heard in Washington at the Library of Congress. He is also a member of the American Chamber Players. He was the soloist for the first of the Orchestra's "An American Festival/Concerts at the Capitol" in 1979, performing the Copland Clarinet Concerto before an audience of 26,000 people. He returned to the Capitol Concert series twice more as soloist, in 1982 and 1988. He has also appeared as soloist with the Orchestra at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts as well as on the Orchestra's subscription series at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including performances of the Copland Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra in 1996 with Leonard Slatkin conducting. Another highlight of his Kennedy Center appearances was a week of performances of Winter's Concertino for Clarinet, Cello, and Orchestra with Mstislav Rostropovich as cellist and Hugh Wolff conducting. Mr. Kitt has since performed at festivals in Colorado and Wyoming, and was involved in Maine's Bay Chamber Concerts, in the series "First Chair All-Stars," featuring principal players from major orchestras around the country.