Adjudicators

Gene Ramsbottom

Instrumental Adjudicator

Gene Ramsbottom joined the CBC Radio Orchestra in 1974 and was its principal clarinetist from 1984 until the orchesta was disbanded in November of 2008. Appointed by Richard Bonynge he was the founding principal clarinetist of the Vancouver Opera orchestra from 1976 - 1996. He has performed as a chamber musician or soloist in Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Israel, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the USA and Ireland. Through his work with the CBC Radio Orchestra he has become known as the most recorded classical clarinetist in Canadian history with almost 50 commercial discs and innumerable local, national and international radio and television concert broadcasts to his credit.

A life long organizer of music events, some of his numerous concert series productions include the Whistler International Mozart Festival (1989 - 90) and the Out For Lunch classical concert series, now in its twenty-fifth season at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Mr. Ramsbottom teaches the clarinet and chamber music at the University of British Columbia, Douglas College and Capilano University.

In May 2005 he performed with Canadian cellist Bo Peng in the Shanghai premiere performance of Messiaen's "Le Quatuor pur la fin du Temps" in a World Peace Concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of WW II. In January of 2006 he performed the Asian premiere of Scott McAllister's "Black Dog" Rhapsody for Clarinet and Winds in Taiwan and Hong Kong with the UBC Symphonic Winds and in July 2007 performed "Black Dog" in Germany and Austria with the West Vancouver Youth Band. In June 2007 he was a guest teacher and soloist and did the Asian premiere in Stephen Chatman's "Prairie Dawn" Clarinet Concerto with the Taipei National University of the Arts Orchestra. Mr. Ramsbottom was a featured artist in the January 2009 Wright State University Symposium in Dayton, Ohio. In August of 2009 he performed as soloist and faculty orchestra member with the Summer Music on the Shannon Music Festival He has been invited as a featured recitalist at Troy State University's Clarinet Symposium in the spring of 2010.