Alum appointed acting principal clarinet of The Cleveland Orchestra

Homecoming came early this year for Cleveland Institute of Music alum Benjamin Lulich (BM ’05, Cohen), who has just been appointed acting principal clarinet of The Cleveland Orchestra.

“I know I have big shoes to fill, so I will be working hard to perform at the highest level with the incredible musicians of the orchestra. I am really looking forward to being in Cleveland this coming season,” he says.

Lulich returns to Cleveland from the west coast, where he was serving as principal clarinet of the Seattle Symphony. He fills the role of his former teacher, and head of the CIM clarinet department, Franklin Cohen. “This season I will be sitting in the same seat as two of my teachers: recently retired Principal Frank Cohen, and former Principal David Shifrin,” says Lulich.

The time Lulich spent at CIM helped him prepare for his exciting new role. “Studying at CIM gave me many opportunities to learn about orchestral playing. I studied repertoire with numerous Cleveland Orchestra musicians who were on faculty at CIM and even had opportunities to perform with The Cleveland Orchestra as a substitute and extra player. All of this training was vital to my career goals to become an orchestral clarinetist.”

Welcome back to Cleveland!

Read more about his appointment in Cleveland.com.