Pittsburgh-based clarinetist Allyson Huneycutt is passionate about approaching music with a sense of creativity and enjoys finding new ways to engage audiences and students alike. She is the clarinetist and executive director of new music ensemble NAT 28, an organization dedicated to premiering new works and featuring local composers. She also is the bass clarinet player for the Butler County Symphony Orchestra. Allyson has been featured as a soloist with the Carnegie Mellon University Contemporary Ensemble, the Mansfield University Orchestra, and the Juniata College Wind Symphony. She has received multiple recognitions for her performance, including the Silberman Clarinet Award in both 2014 and 2016. In addition to playing, Allyson enjoys creating various media to accompany live music – including a series of paintings for Lîla Quartet’s performances of Olivier Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Allyson is an active educator and teaches band and orchestra at the Environmental Charter School, as well as private lessons in her home studio.

Allyson holds both an Advanced Music Studies Certificate and a Master of Music in Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. Her teachers include Ron Samuels, Tommy Thompson, Dr. David Wetzel, and Janet Berlin. She also traveled to Vienna, London, Madrid, and Amsterdam to study clarinet pedagogy with various conservatory instructors as the 2014 winner of the Gindroz Prize for Travel.

Photo credit: Nadine Photography