Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Department

Music

Committee Chair

Robyn Jones

Committee Member

Janet Page

Committee Member

Robyn L Jones, Janet K Page, Michelle Vigneau, Albert T Nguyen, John T Cooper

Committee Member

Michelle Vigneau

Committee Member

Albert T Nguyen

Committee Member

John T Cooper

Abstract

Michele Zukovsky, former principal clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is a legend in the clarinet world. During her fifty-four-year tenure with the orchestra she performed with many of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century and in numerous world premieres. She is the longest serving woman woodwind player in the history of the orchestra. John Williams wrote and dedicated his only clarinet concerto for her. Many of her students from her years of teaching at CalArts, Azusa Pacific University, and the University of Southern California have gone on to have careers of their own as teachers and performers. This paper will explore various facets of her career from her earliest studies with her father Kalman Bloch to her performing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The paper will look at her studies and her relationship with her father as co-principals in the orchestra. It will also examine her decision to switch from the popular Boehm (French) system clarinet to the less played Oehler (German) system clarinet. The material used for this paper will include newspaper articles, programs from the Los Angeles Philharmonic archive, the Simeon Bellison archive at Brigham Young, interviews with Michele Zukovsky, and interviews with several of her former students from different periods of her life.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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