Mara Plotkin
clarinet

Clarinist Mara Plotkin performs extensively as an orchestral and chamber musician in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Mara is a core member of Ensemble 212 and Aurista Chamber Music. She has played in concerts with the Dicapo Opera Theater, Wagner Opera Theater, Chelsea Symphony, and the UC Berkeley Summer Symphony. She has attended music festivals including Banff Music Centre, Las Vegas Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Music@Menlo, and Domaine Forget.

Most recently Ms. Plotkin has played pieces by composers such as Elliott Carter, Anton Webern, and Tania León in solo and chamber ensemble concerts. She performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Mannes Orchestra as finalist in the 2006 Mannes Concerto Competition. She has played in master classes presented by David Shifrin, Stanley Drucker, Anthony McGill, Pascual Martinez Forteza, and David Finkel. She studied clarinet, piano, and viola and took improvisation classes at the Berkeley Jazz School. Mara credits her training in ballet, jazz, modern, and tap dance as a constant inspiration for her music making. In her free time, Mara enjoys swing dancing and participating in community service projects.

Mara Plotkin received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific as well as a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music. Her teachers have included David Krakauer and Patricia Shands. She is currently a Professional Studies Diploma candidate at Mannes, where she receives a scholarship and studies with Stephen Williamson. Mara is supported in part by the LCU Foundation.