Michael Anderson

Clarinet Instructor | Principal Clarinet, Eugene Symphony

Michael Anderson is currently Principal Clarinet of the Eugene Symphony and Santa Fe Pro Musica, and served as the Oregon Bach Festival’s Principal Clarinet for many years before becoming Director of Artistic Administration for the Festival.  Anderson premiered Tomas Svoboda’s Clarinet Concerto in April 2013 with the Eugene Symphony, which was featured internationally on APM’s Performance Today in 2013 and 2014. His CD credits include the Oregon Bach Festival’s Grammy Award-winning recording of Penderecki’s Credo, and the Grammy-nominated Das Lied von der Erde recorded by Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Smithsonian Chamber Players.  He has performed with Chamber Music Northwest, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, and the festival Le Domaine Forget in Quebec.

Michael is also an accomplished performing arts administrator and clarinetist. He has served as Executive Director for the Oregon Bach Festival (interim), Eugene Symphony Orchestra (interim), Portland Baroque Orchestra, and Eugene Opera.  He is currently Director of Artistic Administration for the Oregon Bach Festival, and has served in that role with the Oregon Festival of American Music and with the Fresno Philharmonic.

As administrator and performer, he has worked with a variety of well-known artists including Kurt Herbert Adler, Marin Alsop, Emanuel Ax, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Joshua Bell, John Cage, Victor Borge, Canadian Brass, Judy Collins, Richard Egarr, Ella Fitzgerald, Giancarlo Guererro, Matthew Halls, Lorin Hollander, Monica Huggett, Dick Hyman, Ken Kesey, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, John Nelson, Arvo Pärt, Itzhak Perlman, Kryzsztof Penderecki, Thomas Quasthoff, Steve Reich, Helmuth Rilling, Sven-David Sandström, Peter Schickele, David Shifrin, Frederica von Stade, David Ogden Stiers, and John Williams. Anderson has produced performances of symphony, oratorio, opera, ballet, chamber music, period instrument ensembles, film with orchestra, and theater.

In 2017, Michael Anderson was the recipient of the Eugene Arts and Letters Award, which honors an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the arts and culture of Eugene. He is Artistic Director of the chamber ensemble microphilharmonic, which performs a four concert season at the Shedd Institute in Eugene, Oregon.

Michael Anderson was born in Portland Oregon, and studied at the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and the University of Southern California.  He has taught at the University of Oregon, Willamette University, and Lane Community College, and currently teaches at Woodwinds @ Wallowa Lake each summer.