Anthony McGill (musician)

Anthony McGill
McGill performing at Lincoln Center in 2019
Background information
Born	(1979-07-17) July 17, 1979 (age 45)[1] Chicago, Illinois
Website	anthonymcgill.com

Anthony McGill (born July 17, 1979) is the principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic, after having served for a decade as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

McGill is originally from Chicago, Illinois, growing up in the city's Chatham neighborhood.^[2]

He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and is an instructor at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University^[3] and the Mannes College of Music. McGill is one of the few African American musicians to hold a principal position in a major orchestra.^[4]

McGill was a recipient of the 2000 Avery Fisher Career Grant^[5] and was the 2020 recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize, awarded to "solo instrumentalists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and excellence in music".^[6]

With Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriela Montero, McGill recorded and performed John Williams's "Air and Simple Gifts", composed for the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.^[3] Although the music played was a recording made two days before because of concerns that the cold weather might damage the instruments, the quartet was actually playing at the same time as the recording.^[7]

McGill's older brother, Demarre, is the principal flutist of the Seattle Symphony and previously held the same position with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra,^[8] the San Diego Symphony.^[2] and The Florida Orchestra.

• Official website
• Anthony McGill biography at the Peabody Institute