Elizandro Garcia-Montoya - Clarinet
A native of Costa Rica, Elizandro Garcia-Montoya moved to the United States in 1993 to study clarinet at Baylor University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Garcia-Montoya subsequently completed his Master’s degree at the prestigious Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, where he received Rice’s Michael Hammond “President’s Scholarship”, the highest scholarship award given. In 2003, Garcia-Montoya relocated to Chicago, where he completed postgraduate studies at DePaul University, studying with Mr. Larry Combs, principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, Garcia-Montoya has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Jacksonville Symphony and the State of Mexico Orchestra in Toluca, Mexico. An active freelancer, he performs with some of the most prominent music organizations in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and the Joffrey Ballet. Additional experience includes performances with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Chicago Ensemble, Houston Grand Opera,Tanglewood Music Center, Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Festival, Spoleto Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Sarasota Music Festival and Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. A prizewinner in the 1999 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Garcia-Montoya continues to pursue his chamber music career in Chicago with the Barossa Quintet. He has recently been appointed principal clarinet of the New Hampshire Music Festival, and is on the faculty of Trillium Arts Academy as well as the British School of Performing Arts in Chicago. As a teacher Mr. Garcia-Montoya has been on the faculty of the Baylor University Summer Music Camp, a woodwind coach for the Houston Youth Symphony, and teaching assistant at Rice University.
