Clarence Padilla is a Professor of Clarinet at Drake University and previously served as the Music Department Chair from 2004 to 2008. Professor Padilla has concertized, conducted and presented master classes across the continent in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, California, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas and the District of Columbia. International presentations have been given in Mexico, Germany and Austria. He is a member of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and formerly performed with the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra from 1994-2000. Mr. Padilla previously served as principal clarinet for the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts Orchestra and the Long Beach Municipal Band (California).

Professor Padilla was a featured performer at the 2005 International Congress of Clarinet and Saxophone in Acapulco, Mexico. As a result of this performance, he was invited to give a solo recital and present master classes at the National Conservatory of Mexico in 2006, and at the National University of Mexico in 2007. In 2008, Professor Padilla was a featured soloist with the Drake University Wind Symphony at the North Central Division Conference of the College Band Director’s National Association in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Padilla is also an active chamber musician, holding positions in the Polaris Wind Quintet and the Mozaiques Chamber Ensemble (Des Moines, IA).

Mr. Padilla has performed with a highly varied group of artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Ray Charles, Pat Boone, Marilyn McCoo, Amy Grant, Simon Estes, The Manhattan Transfer, Roger Williams, Patrick Stewart, Lee Greenwood, and conductors Michael Tilson Thomas and Lukas Foss. He has also recorded for the Disney Company Entertainment Division and Touchstone Pictures.

Students who have studied with Clarence Padilla have been selected as winners and finalists for state, regional and national competitions sponsored by the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) and the National Foundation for the Arts. In 2008, student Micah Wright was selected as one of six finalists world wide for the International Clarinet Association solo competition.

Clarence Padilla holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master of Music Degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Southern California, where he was a student of Mitchell Lurie and David Shifrin. Mr. Padilla has also studied with Robert Marcellus, David Atkins, Thomas Hill, James Kanter and Virginia Wright.

Mr. Padilla holds professional memberships in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, and an honorary membership from Mu Phi Epsilon. Currently, Mr. Padilla is the Vice President for the Des Moines Musician’s Association, Local 75 of the American Federation of Musicians. Additionally, he serves as the state chair for the International Clarinet Association.

Prior to his appointment to Drake University in 1993, Mr. Padilla was a member of the faculty at California State University, Fullerton and held public school teaching positions in the Long Beach and Los Alamitos Unified School Districts.

Clarence Padilla released his first solo compact disc recording in 2002. The recording, entitled Playing Through, includes two commissioned works by William Dougherty (Professor of Theory and Composition at Drake University) and Bill Liston (Los Angeles based composer and arranger). In December 2003, the recording received a favorable review in the International Clarinet Association (ICA) quarterly publication, The Clarinet. In fall 2009, Mr. Padilla will release his second solo compact disc recording, entitled With the Wind.