Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet

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Elizandro Garcia-Montoya is an active performer and educator who has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Jacksonville Symphony, and was Principal Clarinet of the State of Mexico Orchestra in Toluca, Mexico. A silver prizewinner in the 1999 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Elizandro continues to pursue his chamber music career and performs regularly with the Chicago Ensemble and Midsummer’s Chamber Music Festival. He has also performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Pilgrim Chamber Players and the Ondas Ensemble, group that specializes in Latin American Music.

Elizandro has performed at numerous music festivals including Tanglewood, National Repertory Orchestra, Kent/Blossom Music, International Festival at Round Top, Spoleto/USA and Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. During the summers, he performs at the New Hampshire Music Festival and travels abroad for international outreach projects with Sound Impact. He completed his Master’s degree at Rice University and also holds a Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a Professional Studies diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Elizandro lives in Chicago and teaches clarinet at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, Elmhurst College, DePaul University Community Music and The People’s Music School.

Click here to download Elizandro’s headshot.

WORK AND PROJECTS

Positions

  • Clarinetist, Fifth House Ensemble

  • Principal Clarinet, Elmhurst Symphony

  • Clarinetist, Chicago Philharmonic

Teaching

  • Teaching Artist with Fifth House Ensemble at Ignite and Deborah’s Place

  • Clarinet Instructor, Loyola University

  • Clarinet Instructor, DePaul University Community Music Program

  • Clarinet Instructor for SEED (Student Ensembles with Excellence and Diversity) Education Program of the Chicago Sinfonietta

  • Clarinet Instructor, Chicago Philharmonic’s Academy of Music Performance

  • Mentor at Chicago Musical Pathway Initiative (music training program for talented student from underrepresented backgrounds)

Projects

  • Fifth House Ensemble Residency at Shenandoah University

  • Virtual Chamber Music Education Program with the Chicago Ensemble

  • Elmhurst Symphony Livestream Chamber Orchestra Series

  • Guest Teacher/Performer at University of South Dakota Clarinet Day Online

Media

Press

  • Elizandro Garcia Montoya received high praise in Chicago Classical Review.  He was hailed as “a wonderful player, possessing a fleet and nimble technique and a full, rich tone. The clarinetist was clearly in synch with Brahms’ reflective introspection, bringing out the songful melancholy of the second movement sensitively, with artful dynamic marking by both men.” Chicago Classical Review, November 25, 2013

  • The Universal newspaper in Mexico City, describing Elizandro Garcia Montoya clarinet solos in Beethoven 8th Symphony as “outstanding woodwind playing, his solos had subtle splendor and precision”. El Universal, Mexico City; September 8, 2018 

PlayerBeth Beauchamp