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Todd Brunel

Todd Brunel is a clarinetist and sax player who perfroms extensively as a cross-over classical and jazz/avante guarde musician.

About Me

Todd Brunel is a clarinetist and sax player who performs extensively as a crossover classical and jazz musician. He is the director of the Vortex Series for New and Improvised Music, a 2010-11 grant recipient from the Cambridge Arts Council, The Somerville Arts Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. As an improvisational musician, he is a founding member of Musaner, Benny and Beyond, the Sonic Sandbox, the Circadian Rhythm Kings, the Lilli Lewis Group and often collaborates with pianist David Maxwell, guitarist Garrison Fewell, and singer songwriter Andy Pratt. Brunel has made guest appearances at The International Woodwind Festival, Gallery 119, the Longy School of Music, The East Boston Jazz Festival, The Boston Music Festival, Mobius and the Vortex Other Dimension Festival in Cambridge, MA. As a classical musician, Brunel has made guest appearances at Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, the SEAMUS festival, The Academy of Music Dance and Art in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and has premiered new works for the clarinet by composers Vuk Kulenovic, Pamella Watson, George 'Skip' Brunner, Vache Sharafyan and Mathew D. Harder. He currently plays principal clarinet with the Waltham Symphony and has performed with ALEA III, The Bulgarian Virtuosi and the Opera Ebony of Harlem. He also works with the Lexington Symphony and is often featured as a jazz soloist with the Claflin Hill Summer Winds.

Mr Brunel holds an MM from the Brooklyn College Conservatory, where he was a graduate assistant to Paul Shelden, and he holds a BM from the Boston Conservatory, where he studied with Attilio Poto. He has studied clarinet with Jonathan Cohler, Thomas Martin, Pasquale Cardillo and has pursued jazz studies with Peter Cassino, Bob Mover and composition studies with Sam Headrick. Brunel has attended the Aspen Music Festival, the Longy School and the University of North Texas as a scholarship recipient.

Recent recordings include the Circadian Rhythm Kings (Innova Recordings 2008), Invocation and Dance with pianist and composer Ara Sarkissian, the Rivera Brunel Method, Musaner, All That Glitters with Andy Pratt, Vortex Live and The Sonic Sandbox, Turbulence.