Gregory Oakes
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
D.M.A., University of Colorado
M.M., DePaul University
B.M., Michigan State University
E-mail: Gregory.Oakes@usm.edu
Clarinet Studio
Category 5
Personal Web Site
Press Kit
Clarinetist Gregory Oakes is a versatile musician who finds himself at home performing classical, contemporary, and jazz music. He was raised in New Mexico, where he was recognized with several awards and scholarships for his musical promise, including his first concerto performance at the age of 16.
Dr. Oakes has performed as a member of many orchestras, including the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Central City Opera, and the Chicago Civic Orchestra. He is also a founding member of the new music ensemble Non Sequitur, hailed by New Music Connoisseur as "utterly sensational." With Non Sequitur, he has performed dozens of world premieres and has worked with composers such as Thomas Adès, Pierre Boulez, John Harbison, Steven Macky, Larry Polansky, Bernard Rands, Michael Torke, Dan Trueman, and George Tsontakis. He has also performed in such venues as the Telluride Jazz Festival with Terrence Blanchard, Amsterdam's new music center De IJsbreker, and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall with members of Ensemble Intercontemporain under the baton of Pierre Boulez. He has been featured as a soloist at the Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, Boulder's Modern Music Festival (M2F), Colorado Music Festival’s Young Artists Series, and the Pendulum New Music Series in Boulder, Colo. Dr. Oakes's recordings include works for Bridge, CRI, Gothic, Karnatic Lab Records, and Naxos and performances on National Public Radio.
As a soloist, Dr. Oakes has appeared in performances in the United States and Europe in both recitals and concertos. He continues to maintain an active performing schedule, with upcoming appearances in Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, and North Carolina.
Dr. Oakes holds a doctor of musical arts from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He earned a master of music "with distinction" from DePaul University and a bachelor of music "with highest honors" from Michigan State University. His teachers have included Bil Jackson, John Bruce Yeh, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, and Keith Lemmons. In 2001, he was a Fulbright Scholar finalist. He has received fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Institute.
Having taught on the faculty of Bemidji State University (Bemidji, Minn.) and Regis University (Denver, Colo.) Oakes joins the faculty of The University of Southern Mississippi as assistant professor of clarinet and performs as a member of Category 5 Winds.