Spotlight | Principal Clarinet, Bill and Peggy Lyons Chair

Raymond Santos

Raymond Santos has served as principal clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony since September of 2008. Previously, he was a clarinet fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Santos has played as guest principal clarinet for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Oregon Symphony. He received multiple fellowships to the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center, where he was conferred the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize for exceptional musical achievement. He also performed at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and the National Orchestral Institute in Washington D.C. In addition to his orchestral activities, he has played chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and China. Originally from West Chester, Ohio, Santos received his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Southern California, under the tutelage of revered pedagogue Yehuda Gilad. In high school, he studied with Richard Hawley, former principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Other principal teachers have included Monica Kaenzig, and Sandra Snyder. Santos is a Buffet Crampon USA performing artist, and plays exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets.