Monterey Symphony

Ginger Kroft Barnetson
Principal Clarinet

Ginger Kroft Barnetson is the principal clarinet of the Monterey Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, and Carmel Bach Festival, and is a member of the Fresno Philharmonic and Santa Cruz Symphony orchestras. She has collaborated with numerous San Francisco chamber music groups, including the Adorno Ensemble, Bridge Players and the Worn Chamber Ensemble.

Ms. Barnetson is a faculty member at Santa Clara University and maintains a pre-college clarinet studio, ClarinetStudio.org. Ms. Barnetson is a music education advocate and has coached in the public schools for the past 10 years. In 2003, she joined a select few when she was added to the Vandoren International Artists list. Vandoren is a leading maker of clarinet reeds and accessories. Ms. Barnetson plays M13-lyre clarinet mouthpieces with Traditional reeds.

Born in Louisville, Ohio, Ms. Barnetson began playing the clarinet in first grade. Her inspiration was her mother, a professional bassoonist. During her pre-college days, Ms. Barnetson was a winner of the Tuesday Musical Club (Akron, OH,) a finalist for the Tilden Prize of the National Arts Club (New York City,) and a featured soloist with the Canton Youth Symphony and Akron Youth Symphony. She was also a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

Ms. Barnetson attended Northwestern University, studying with Clark Brody (Chicago Symphony) and Russell Dagon (Milwaukee Symphony) and earned a Bachelor of Music degree. She pursued graduate studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then, she studied with the late David Breeden (San Francisco Symphony) and earned a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received a departmental award for Distinction in Performance.

As a student, she was invited to lead Master Classes at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Duquesne University. She was also a concerto competition winner and soloist with the Pittsburgh (PA) Youth Symphony and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Ms. Barnetson began her professional career while in graduate school, winning auditions with the Erie (PA) Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh (PA) Opera.

Ginger Barnetson was the featured soloist with the Carmel Bach Festival, performing Mozart’s “Clarinet Concerto,” in July 2008.

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