Vanguard Reed Quintet

Mickayla Chapman

Clarinet

Mickayla Chapman is currently working full time as the Training Ensembles Development & Recruitment Coordinator with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she maintains private clarinet studio and appears as an educator throughout southeast Michigan.  

As an avid chamber musician, Mickayla has dedicated much of her life to collaboration. As clarinetist in the Vanguard Reed Quintet, she has been awarded the Silver Medal in the Senior Winds Division at the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Vanguard has also just recorded it’s debut album of six new commission for the reed quintet. In addition to Vanguard, Mickayla was awarded 2nd Prize in the 2018 Dale and Nancy Briggs Chamber Music Competition with the Saros Trio, where they were also awarded an additional prize for the best performance of a work by a University of Michigan composer. With her chamber music groups Ensemble Kiowa and Ensemble L’Aube, Mickayla was a National Finalist for two consecutive years in the MTNA Young Artist Chamber Music Competition. With Ensemble Kiowa, she also won 3rd Prize in the Enkor Chamber Music Competition. Mickayla’s various chamber ensembles have appeared for performances and educational activities throughout Southeast Michigan, New York City, and the Kansas City area.

As a soloist, Mickayla has been invited to play with the Kansas City Philharmonia Orchestra and has performed as principal clarinet of the Neue Eutiner Fespiele Orchestra in Eutin, Germany, and has also recently performed with the University of Michigan Symphony Band, Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, Kansas Sinfonietta Orchestra, Kansas Repertory Theatre, and Lawrence Community Orchestra. As a member of the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble she premiered Mohammed Fairouz’s piece In the Shadow of No Towers at Carnegie Hall, a performance hailed by the New York Times as “technically impressive” and “deeply moving.” She also recorded Michael Torke’s Bliss as an E-flat clarinetist with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble. Both of these performances have been recorded and released on the Naxos label.

Mickayla completed her Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Kansas, and her major teachers include Chad Burrow, Daniel Gilbert, Fred Ormand, and Dr. Stephanie Zelnick.

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