Ricardo Morales

Ricardo Morales was appointed principal clarinet of The Philadelphia Orchestra by Wolfgang Sawallisch in 2002 and joined the Orchestra in 2003. Prior to this, he was principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a position he assumed at the age of 21 under the direction of James Levine. He has also served as principal clarinet of the Florida Symphony.

Mr. Morales has been a featured soloist with many orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Flemish Radio Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Puerto Rico Symphony, the Florida Symphony, and the Columbus Symphony. During his tenure with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mr. Morales soloed under the baton of James Levine in Carnegie Hall; subsequently, he made his solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2004 with Charles Dutoit at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and performed as soloist in 2005 with Christoph Eschenbach in Verizon Hall.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Morales has performed in the MET Chamber Ensemble series, at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, on NBC’s The Today Show, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Morales serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School and Temple University.