The second annual Montana-Idaho Clarinet Festival brought clarinet enthusiasts to the University of Idaho campus — and they came with a disdain for “lesser” woodwinds.
“Maybe I’m prejudiced because I’m a clarinet player, but when the flute plays jazz it sounds kind of stupid,” said Jane Ellsworth, a music professor at Eastern Washington University. The clarinet can play jazz, classical and a variety of other styles without sounding impudent because of its versatility, said Shawn Copeland, the event organizer and an assistant professor of clarinet at UI.
“Out of all the musical instruments, the clarinet is the most like the human voice in terms of expressive range,” Copeland said.
Shawn Coplen | Argonaut
Guest speaker performs, speaks and critiques with Idaho-Montana Clarinet Festival with student and faculty attendees last weekend.
Delivering a high soprano and a deep bass, loud roars and soft whispers, the clarinet offers a flexibility that cannot be matched by other instruments.
“Most woodwinds, like the saxophone, can only get up to two octaves. We have such a big range that we can get up to three,” said Victoria Olson a sophomore studying music business at UI.
Olson registered attendees from various schools. The festival rotates between several universities in Montana and Idaho.
“It’s a great event, and we have great guest artists every year,” Olson said.
From Sept. 9 to Sept. 10, clarinet players enjoyed presentations, recitals and food.
On Friday, attendees saw a presentation deconstructing famed clarinetist Claude Debussy’s “Premiere Rhapsody” from Shannon Scott, a music professor at Washington State University.
Then, attendees piled into Haddock Performance Hall for a master class from internationally recognized clarinetist Eric Mandat.
“During the day, some of the students attending play, and get critiqued by our guest artists,” Olson said.
Saturday offered more recitals, more master classes and a presentation by Ellsworth about the history of clarinets. Ellsworth explained how the clarinet has evolved over the course of several centuries, Olson said.
“It developed from an instrument that’s very simple and almost primitive into, over the course of maybe 250 years, into something that can play all these different kinds of music,” Ellsworth said.
The ubiquity and popularity of the clarinet is a result of its range, Ellsworth said.
“I think it’s the versatility factor — of all the instruments, the clarinet is the most versatile,” Ellsworth said.
In addition to playing the clarinet, Mandat also composes music. He played an original composition Saturday evening to round out the festival.
“The clarinet itself has just so much emotion, and you can really convey to your audience what you’re trying to put into your piece — it really comes off on the clarinet,” Olson said.
Danny Buggingo
can be reached at