Larry Combs

Biography

Larry Combs was Principal Clarinet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 2008 and has been on the DePaul School of Music Faculty since 1981. He is a founding member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians and served as Artistic Co-Director of that organization from 1987 to 1995. He has recorded virtually the entire orchestral repertoire with the Chicago Symphony under such conductors as Solti, Barenboim, Levine, Abbado, Tilson Thomas, Boulez and others. Recent solo and chamber recordings include releases on the Cedille, Summit, and Erato labels. He was awarded the Grammy in 1994 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for his participation in a recording of chamber music of Beethoven and Mozart with Daniel Barenboim and members of the Berlin Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony. Combs has appeared as soloist numerous times with the Chicago Symphony and with orchestras nation-wide, and performs as a member of the World Orchestra for Peace.