Clarinetist Marianne Gythfeldt, a native of Norway, has distinguished herself in chamber music, orchestral and contemporary music performance on the international stage. Her formative years were split between Oslo, Paris, Rome and Morristown, N.J, where her musical experiences included marching in street parades, performing in All-State bands and orchestras and studying electro-acoustic music at Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoutique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Music at Eastman School of Music, under the tutelage of Stanley Hasty, and a Master of Music at Stony Brook University, where she studied with Charles Neidich.
As a New York City resident, Ms. Gythfeldt became the clarinetist of Ensemble Sospeso, Zephyros Winds, Absolute Ensemble and the Naumburg Award-winning New Millennium Ensemble, as well as a frequent participant in concerts with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Concert series and tours with these ensembles have taken her to Europe, Australia and Japan in collaboration with internationally acclaimed artists such as Paquito D’Rivera and Joe Zawinul. After 15 years of professional life in New York City, she came to the University of Delaware, where she is associate professor of clarinet and is building the clarinet performance and chamber music programs.
Currently, Ms. Gythfeldt is considered one of the premier performers and promoters of avant-garde and experimental contemporary music, and she is often invited to perform as a soloist in concert series and festivals of modern music. She is a member of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) and participates in its annual conference by performing new works written for her and works of her own. Ms. Gythfeldt occasionally performs with OperaDelaware and as a soloist with the Serafin String Quartet.
Highlights of the 2009-2010 season include a recital performance for the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at Bowling Green State University, a premiere performance of Revolve at the 2010 SEAMUS conference in St. Cloud, Minn., and a command performance with Zephyros Winds at the new National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Ms. Gythfeldt can be heard on recordings by CBS Masterworks, CRI, Albany, Koch and Mode Records; the 2005 Albany Records release of two solo clarinet pieces by Robert Morris; and as lead clarinet in the new 2010 release of Joe Zawinul with Absolute Ensemble.