Dr. William King

Biography

Clarinetist William King maintains an active and varied career in music, serving as the coordinator of woodwind chamber music at the University of Michigan where he holds the 2nd/bass clarinet chair (tenured) with the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra. He is a member of the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, an ensemble dedicated to performing America’s popular musical repertoire, and performs at the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival in August. A native of Pittsburgh, King earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, along with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University and a Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University. He has performed as an extra clarinetist with the Pittsburgh Symphony for eight years and has played with the Cincinnati, Colorado, and Phoenix Symphonies, as well as other music festivals. King has held tenured positions with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra and has had principal clarinet roles in several orchestras. His past teaching appointments include prestigious institutions across Michigan and Illinois. In 2008, he established the Ann Arbor Clarinet Connection, an authorized Buffet Crampon Pro-House Dealership specializing in hand-selected clarinets. He resides in Ann Arbor with his wife, oboist Nancy Ambrose King, and their sons, Ryan and Trevor.