Frank Tao

Clarinetist Frank Tao is currently pursuing his M.M. at the New England Conservatory, where he studies with Andrew Sandwick. He earned his B.M. from the Mannes School of Music under the tutelage of Charles Neidich. Before Mannes, he attended Bard College’s double-degree program on a full scholarship. His previous teachers include Benjamin Adler, Pascual Martínez-Forteza, and David Krakauer.

Frank has performed in the orchestra for the Martha Graham Dance Company and for the world premiere recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Flute Concerto, featuring renowned flutist Valerie Coleman as the soloist. He also played second clarinet in Richard Strauss’s opera Salome at the Fisher Center, in a production that received praise from Opera News.

An active orchestral and chamber musician, Frank was selected as principal clarinetist of the 2024 New York String Orchestra Seminar. He also took part in the 2024 Taipei Music Academy and Festival, performing alongside John Yeh, associate principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at Taipei’s National Concert Hall. This summer, Frank will be a clarinet fellow at the Sarasota Music Festival and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Outside of music, Frank enjoys experimenting with different cooking techniques, petting his friends’ cats, and solving challenging math problems.