Clarinetist Kelli O’Connor enjoys a varied and vibrant career as a soloist, educator and chamber and orchestral musician. A founding member of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston and the Radiance Woodwind Quintet, Ms. O’Connor is principal clarinet of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony, co-principal of the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, and appears as acting principal clarinet with the Springfield Symphony and the New Haven Symphony Orchestras. She also regularly performs with the Portland Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, Juno Chamber Orchestra and New Bedford Symphony, and has appeared as a guest artist for the North Country Chamber Players. She served previously as principal clarinet with the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and Salt Marsh Opera and was clarinet soloist on the 2004-2005 national tour of Fiddler on the Roof. As a member of the United States Coast Guard Band, she had the honor of performing at the inauguration of President Clinton and with such eminent soloists as Placido Domingo, Martha Reeves and Lorrie Morgan.

Ms. O’Connor has been featured on numerous occasions as a soloist with the Vermont Symphony, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, Connecticut Orchestra and the Downey Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, she participated in residency programs at Lee University and Northeastern University. She has also appeared as a guest artist on the chamber music festivals of Martha’s Vineyard, White Mountain Music Festival, and the Hop River Chamber Music series in Andover, CT.

In addition to her performing career, Ms. O’Connor is an active and enthusiastic educator, serving on the faculties of Central Connecticut State University and Connecticut College, and on the faculty roster for the InterHarmony Music Festival in Italy. She also serves as a woodwind section coach for the Yale Symphony Orchestra under the direction of William Boughton. Formerly a faculty member at the University of Rhode Island, Ms. O’Connor also served on the faculty of Calvary Music School, where she provided private clarinet and saxophone instruction to area students. She has presented masterclasses and recitals at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Lee University, Baldwin-Wallace University, Northeastern University, and Salem State College, and is the founder and director of the Waterford High School Clarinet Choir, which has won many distinctions and been featured on numerous occasions as an honor ensemble at the Connecticut All-State Music Educator’s Convention.

A native of Newburgh, New York, Ms. O’Connor received a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin- Wallace University and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory and was a scholarship recipient and concerto competition winner at both schools. In her free time, she also enjoys playing lead Tenor Saxophone in the Tim Fioravanti Jazz Orchestra, based in Waterford, CT.