Clarinetist Dario Brignoli splits his time between Tucson, Arizona and Chicago these days. He also frequently makes his way back to Milan, Italy which is where he grew up. He is currently the Principal Clarinet in the Grant Park Symphony which performs every summer in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Dario holds the same position with the Tucson Symphony, and he has made his home there for 9 years. However, Dario has a wide variety of interests outside of music. Some of these include biking (with pedals), swimming, running, and the natural offshoot, triathlons. He and a group of like-minded artists annually attend the Burning Man Festival in the desert of Northern Nevada. They create and present performances in music, ballet, and any other genre they feel inspired to tackle.
At the time of this podcast interview, Dario was rehearsing to be a featured soloist for the 4th of July concert. His has since performed the Three Preludes by George Gershwin, transcribed to feature a clarinet soloist. The weather was pretty dicey all day long, but at 7:30 at the Pritzker Pavilion, the rain stopped, and a good sized holiday crowd was treated to an excellent performance. Mr. Brignoli was warmly applauded by the crowd as well as by his Grant Park Symphony colleagues. He also looked dapper in a custom made jacket featuring his own designs.
Moving Forward
Dario has many interesting projects planned for the next year and into the future. One of the most exciting is his own long-promised website. I will add a link once this has become available.