James Shields, clarinet

James Shields, an active chamber and orchestral musician, is currently the principal clarinetist of both the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Ontario and the New Mexico Philharmonic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. 2006, Clarinet Performance), where he studied with Ricardo Morales, the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic.  He has appeared as soloist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Wind Symphony, and the Chatter Chamber Ensemble, and has performed as principal clarinet with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, the Astoria Music Festival (Astoria, OR), and Santa Fe Pro Musica.  James is co-artistic director of Chatter, a New Mexico based chamber music organization that presents up to 65 concerts annually.  In the summer of 2010 he received a masters degree in Composition from the University of New Mexico, and has had his works performed at the Juilliard School and by the Chatter chamber ensemble.