Bil Jackson enjoys a varied musical career that includes solo, orchestral, and chamber music performances. Currently Principal Clarinetist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Chamber Symphony, Mr. Jackson has performed as Principal Clarinetist with the Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Honolulu Orchestras, and, has appeared as a soloist with the Colorado, Honolulu, Denver, Charlotte, Dallas Chamber, and Aspen Chamber orchestras.
Mr. Jackson is currently professor of clarinet at the University of Northern Colorado and on the Artist-Faculty of the Aspen Music Festival. Previously he has served on the faculties of the University of Texas, University of Colorado and Duquesne University. Mr. Jackson studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he won the Academy's Concerto Competition three times and was awarded the gold medal for overall musicianship upon graduation. He continued his formal study at Northwestern University with Robert Marcellus. Additionally, he became the only player ever to win the International Clarinet Competition twice, and in 1981, he was a finalist in the Prague International Clarinet Competition.
Currently, Mr. Jackson continues to perform recitals and present master classes throughout the United States and abroad with the most recent presented at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Mr. Jackson commissioned, and premiered with the Honolulu Symphony, Dan Welcher's Clarinet Concerto. He subsequently returned to the Honolulu Symphony to record the work for the Marco Polo label. Mr. Jackson teams with pianist Bill Douglas to present concerts that synthesize jazz, classical, and contemporary formats. Mr. Jackson's chamber music affiliations include performances with: David Shifrin, Ida Kavafian, Cho-Liang Lin, Peter Wiley, Emanuel Ax, Milan Turkovic, Stephen Hough, Awadagin Pratt, Anne Marie McDermott, Eugenia Zukerman, Steve Prutsman, Pamela Frank Ransom Wilson, Sharon Isbin, Robert McDuffie, Eric Kim, Toby Appel, Bill Douglas, American String Quartet, and the Miami String Quartet. Additionally, he is a guest artist with the Music From Angel Fire, Bravo! Colorado, Chamber Music Northwest, and Sunflower chamber music festivals and has performed with Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society and the Australian Chamber Music Festival.
Additionally, Mr. Jackson is Co-Artistic Director of the Alpenglow chamber music festival. Mr. Jackson performs and records in Japan with the Tokyo Bach-Band which presents the music of Bach in a modern musical format. As a hobby, Mr. Jackson designs and manufactures reed-making equipment and is in the process of writing a book titled SpeedReeding.
