Artist Picture

Ralph Skiano

Clarinet

Principal, Robert B. Semple Chair

DSO member since 2014

Ralph Skiano was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2014 after serving in the same position in the Richmond Symphony and the Des Moines Metro Opera. He has also appeared as guest Principal Clarinet of the Seattle Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Skiano has been involved in numerous music festivals including the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Peninsula Music Festival, the Britt Music Festival, Festival Lyrique-en-Mer, and the Tanglewood Music Center. As a soloist, he has been featured with ensembles in the United States, France, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2010, Skiano was a guest artist at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium and was a featured soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony at the 2014 International Clarinet Association Convention. Skiano appeared as a soloist several times with the Richmond Symphony, most notably performing concerti by Mozart, Weber, and Copland. He made his solo debut with the DSO in March of 2015, performing Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet.

Skiano has served on the faculty of the schools of music at James Madison University and the College of William and Mary and has presented masterclasses at UVA, Towson University, Louisiana State University, California State University Northridge, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Maryland.

Under the guidance of Richard Hawley, Skiano completed his Bachelor of Music at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2002.