A native of Ukraine and Israel who has called the US home for the last 20 years, Pavel Vinnitsky is an Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory College of Music starting in Fall 2022. Vinnitsky has gained international acclaim through numerous solo, chamber music and orchestral appearances at major concert venues around the world and is recognized as one of the most in demand clarinet performers and teachers in the United States.
During the 2016-22 seasons he has served as an acting clarinet section member with the New York Philharmonic and as an Associate Clarinetist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2009. Mr. Vinnitsky regularly appears as a guest clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the American Symphony and the Orchestra of St. Luke's.
In high demand as a chamber musician, he has been featured in performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic chamber music series , the Met Chamber Players at Carnegie Hall, as well as with the Wind Soloists of New York, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, the International Contemporary Ensemble and is on the artists roster of many international chamber music festivals. Together with his wife, concert pianist and composer Anna Vinnitsky, he toured internationally, presenting innovative programs of the standard and original music for clarinet and piano ensemble.
His discography includes Grammy Award winning recordings for Deutsche Grammophon with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Sonny Classical and Deca Gold albums with the New York Philharmonic, recordings for New World and Bridge Records labels, numerous broadcasts on WQXR, SiriusXM, Bavarian Radio as well as appearances on CBS and ABC TV channels and Israeli National TV.
Mr. Vinnitsky can be heard on soundtracks for motion picture features produced by Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Paramount Studios, Disney and 20th Century Fox as well as TV series on Netflix and Amazon. He collaborated in performances and recording projects with a number of rock and pop music stars including Sting, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennet , Paul McCartney and Peter Gabriel.
An established educator, Pavel Vinnitsky actively appears in master-classes at universities and music schools nation-wide including the Juilliard and Yale School of Music. He has served on the faculty of New York University (2013-22) and currently teaches at the Interlochen Summer Clarinet Institute. Starting in the fall 2022 Pavel Vinnitsky will assume the position of an Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory College of Music.
Now an American citizen, Vinnitsky began his music education in his home country Ukraine where he studied clarinet with Boris Fisherman. In 1990 his family immigrated to Israel. There he attended Tel Aviv University studying under Professor Richard Lesser while performing with Youth Israel Philharmonic and touring extensively as a member of a klezmer trio. In 2003 he was accepted into the studio of David Shifrin at the Yale University School of Music and upon finishing his Master of Music degree moved to New York City and made United States his home.