Julia Heinen

The Minneapolis Star and Tribune states; “Julia Heinen is a sensation”, “Absolutely brilliant.” The Des Moines Register says, “Plays with intensity, conviction and impressive virtuosity.”

As a soloist, Julia Heinen has performed hundreds of recitals throughout the United States and had the distinct pleasure of premiering several works written specifically for her. In February of 2003, she performed a recital including several new works at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall culminating in a compact disc recording including several of these pieces released in the Fall of 2007 by Centaur Records. A new recording of works by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Eychenne and Guastavino for clarinet and piano with Dmitry Rachmanov will be released in the Summer of 2013 by Tresóna Multimedia.

In addition to Dr. Heinen’s solo performances she is often heard as a chamber musician performing most notably with the Tapestry Ensemble, a quartet of oboe, clarinet, cello and piano and the TEMPO New Music Ensemble. A recording of new chamber works for the Tapestry Ensemble: a quartet of oboe, clarinet, cello and piano released in October 2011 by PARMA. She is also an accomplished ensemble player having served as principal clarinetist with the American Wind Symphony, a professional wind ensemble which tours the United States and Europe. As an orchestral player, she has served as principal clarinetist with the Augusta, Dubuque, Greenville, LaCrosse, Rochester and Valdosta Symphony Orchestras and was featured several times as a concerto soloist with those ensembles. In addition, her orchestral performances also include several concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra.

As an artist and clinician for the Buffet and Rico Corporations, Dr. Heinen does frequent clinics and masterclasses in many universities and colleges throughout the United States. Originally from Minnesota, she currently lives in Los Angeles, where she serves as professor of music at California State University, Northridge, teaching clarinet and coaching chamber music. She served as the artistic director of ClarinetFest® 2011 and continues her work with this organization as the state of California Chair of the International Clarinet Association. She holds a masters degree from the University of Michigan, an artist diploma from Northwestern University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Her teachers have included Herbert Blayman, Robert Marcellus and J. Cloyde Williams.

Julia Heinen is a Buffet Crampon USA and Rico Reeds Performing Artist and plays exclusively on Tosca clarinets and Reserve Classic reeds.