RECITATIVE AND FRENZY

William Helmers, Clarinet

William Helmers enjoys an active and varied career as chamber musician, orchestra member, soloist, teacher, conductor, and recording artist. In addition to his work with the Milwaukee Symphony, Mr. Helmers performs with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and the contemporary music ensemble, Present Music. In summers, he has performed as a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and at the Washington Island Chamber Music Festival. Since 1994, he has been a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Mr. Helmers is known for his performances of new music, giving several important American and world premieres. In 1997, he gave the first American performances of John Adams's clarinet concerto, Gnarly Buttons. With Present Music, he commissioned and gave the world premiere of Roberto Sierra's Piezas Caracteristicas, a work that has since been performed worldwide. Mr. Helmers's CRI recording of Piezas Caracteristicas, along with other clarinet solo and chamber music by Roberto Sierra was cited by The American Record Guide for its "extraordinary playing." Among his other recordings are works by Yehuda Yannay, Michael Torke, Kamran Ince, Kimmo Hakola and others. Mr. Helmers has often been heard on the airwaves, including a nationwide broadcast of the world premiere of Lawrence McDonald's Concertino for bass clarinet and orchestra with the Milwaukee Symphony. Helmers performed as part of the solo group in Kamran Ince's Fest with the orchestras of Milwaukee, Dayton, Albany, and at the International Music Festival of Istanbul.