Harold Wright

Copland “Appalachian Spring” National Symphony, Howard Mitchell Cond.

Harold Wright, clarinet
Harold Wright until his untimely death in 1995 was the Principal Clarinetist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from th 1970-71 season. Born in Wayne, Pennsylvania, he began clarinet at the age of 12. Later he entered the Curtis Institute of Music and studied with Ralph McLane, Principal Clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Wright joined the Houston Orchestra upon graduation. The following year, he became Principal Clarinetist of the Dallas Symphony and subsequently was Principal Clarinetist of the National Symphony until joining the Boston Symphony in 1970. Mr. Wright was the Principal Clarinetist of the Casals Festival Orchestra for 7 seasons and he was a participant in the Marlboro Festival with Rudolph Serkin for 17 seasons.
Harold Wright was a frequent guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Concerts, the Mostly Mozart Festival and the Chamber Music Concerts at the 92nd Street Y in New York. He has performed with many of the leading quartets of today – including the Guarneri, Veneer and Juillard Quartets. His many recordings include Copland Sextet, Mozart and Weber (Clarinet) Quintets, Brahms Trio, Schubert Octet and “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” with Benita Valente and Rudolph Serkin and the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Formally a teacher at Boston University, Mr. Wright was a faculty member at the New England Conservatory and the Tanglewood Music Center. He was also a member of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players and the Boston Wind Octet.