BIOGRAPHY

With a passion for all kinds of music, Jack Kartsotis is a clarinetist with a diverse portfolio of performance experience. Jack’s experiences, ranging from full orchestras and wind ensembles, to chamber music and solo recitals, has helped him to become a versatile performer, as well as a knowledgeable educator. He has worked professionally as a freelance musician across the United States playing in holiday and pops concerts, new music premieres, and various recordings projects. Jack has won auditions with the United States Navy Fleet Bands, and currently performs as 2nd clarinetist with the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky. Jack lives in Chicago, Illinois where he maintains a private studio of clarinet students, and works at The People's Music School as a Program Coordinator and Teaching Artist. During the summer, Jack regularly performs solo, chamber, and orchestral works at music festivals around the world. He has appeared at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in Austria, the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, and the Bay View Festival in Michigan. Jack’s primary teachers include Howard Klug, Daryl Coad, and Rahni Kennedy. He has performed in masterclasses by Eli Eban, and Andrea Levine from Indiana University, Kimberly Cole Luevano from the University of North Texas, Greg Raden from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Reinhard Wieser from the Vienna Symphony.  In 2019, Jack earned a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from the University of North Texas (UNT). He can be heard on recordings of the prestigious UNT Symphonic Band, UNT Symphony Orchestra, and as a clarinet soloist with the Concert Choir Wind Ensemble. While at North Texas, Jack was awarded second place in the UNT Chamber Music Competition with the LEAD Clarinet Quartet, and was also a finalist in the 2018 Concerto Competition. In 2021, Jack earned a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Indiana University (IU) Jacobs School of Music. While at Indiana he was Principal Clarinet of the IU Wind Ensemble, and held auxiliary clarinet positions in the University’s Orchestras. Jack also participated in various composition projects, regularly premiering and recording new works. In the local community he was a member of the Bloomington Chamber Opera Orchestra.