Biography
Recently awarded second place in the 2023 American Prize for Woodwind Performance (professional division), Jeremy Wohletz’s performances have been described as “tasty and elegant” with “a lovely tone to his sound and great control throughout.” He has performed and lectured at conferences for the International Clarinet Association, International Double Reed Society, Single Reed Summit, and National Association for Collegiate Wind and Percussion Instructors.
As a performer, he maintains a highly active performance schedule and is a large advocate for new music, both performing and commissioning new works. One of these commissions was recently chosen to premiere at the 2024 ClarinetFest in Dublin, Ireland. Another piece was commissioned and premiered at the 2012 ClarinetFest by his guitar and clarinet duo, Pararo. This performance was described by The Clarinet Journal as “a soothing blend of guitar and clarinet that washed through the ears to the soul.” As a solo recitalist, he presented performances and masterclasses throughout the United States, Canada, and Portugal. He is a regular in the Bismarck Mandan Symphony Orchestra on both clarinet and saxophone and has been a guest soloist with the Missouri Valley Chamber Orchestra.
As an educator, Dr. Wohletz has taught a variety of courses such as woodwind pedagogy, music theory, along with private lessons and chamber coaching. He has also been asked to guest lecture numerous times on topics ranging from extended techniques for clarinet, history of jazz, Balinese gamelan, and been asked to coach several high school woodwind sections. In addition to regular classroom teaching, he has also served as clarinet faculty at the International Music Camp since 2018, where he teaches clarinet sectionals, masterclasses, and chamber coaching. Dr. Wohletz has been published in the National Association of Collegiate Wind and Percussions Instructors journal and was selected to present at the 2018 American Single Reed Summit. He also won second prize at the 2014 International Clarinet Association’s research competition for his presentation entitled “East meets West: Transcribing Balinese Gamelan for Clarinet Choir.”
Jeremy Wohletz received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Baker University, where he was named music performer of the year multiple years. He was also appointed principal clarinet in the Kansas Intercollegiate Band, performed with the National Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in New York, and performed in the Small Intercollegiate Band at the Lincoln Center in New York. Dr. Wohletz received his Master of Music from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he won the Wind Ensemble Concerto competition and served as principal clarinetist in both the orchestra and wind ensemble. While pursuing his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas, he was the recipient of several grants that allowed him to travel to Bali, Indonesia where he studied Balinese gamelan firsthand from a gamelan master.
His teachers include Dr. JD Parr, Dr. Eric Mandat, and Dr. Stephanie Zelnick.
