John Bruce Yeh


John Bruce Yeh is an American clarinetist. He has been the assistant principal clarinetist and E-flat clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1977. Yeh is the founder and director of the chamber ensemble, Chicago Pro Musica, whose first recording, Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat, won the 1985 Grammy Award for the Best New Classical Artist.

Early life

Yeh was born in Washington DC, although he grew up in Los Angeles, California. Yeh's parents were originally from China. Yeh's father was a scientist and a singer. Yeh's mother was a scientist and a pianist.

Education

Yeh initially studied as a pre-med student at UCLA and also played in local chamber music ensembles and youth symphonies. After two years at UCLA, Yeh transferred to the Juilliard School in New York City.

Career

In 1977, at age 19, Yeh was hired by Georg Solti as a clarinetist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He started as solo bass clarinetist and two years later was appointed assistant principal and E-flat clarinetist.
While in New York Yeh became a founding member of the New York New Music Ensemble and retained an interest in contemporary music throughout his career. In 1979 he founded the chamber ensemble, Chicago Pro Musica and remains its director. The ensemble's first recording, Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat, won the 1985 Grammy Award for the Best New Classical Artist. He has also collaborated with composer and electronic musician Howard Sandroff, performing and recording Pierre Boulez's 1985 work for clarinet and electronics, Dialogue de l'ombre double.
Yeh cofounded INVENTIONS, a visual-musical quartet.

Personal life

Yeh's first wife was Jody Yeh, a clarinetist, who is of Jewish descent; they have two daughters, Molly and Jenna. Yeh's second wife is Teresa Reilly, a clarinetist, and together, they have a daughter, Mia. Yeh, his wife Reilly, and their daughter Molly Yeh, a percussionist, perform together on the album Synergy released by Naxos Records in the Naxos Wind Band Classics series.

Recordings

Yeh's recordings include: