Sandra Jackson

About Sandra

Clarinetist Sandra Jackson is an international performer and clarinet instructor and an avid proponent of new music. Jackson is the Associate Professor of Clarinet at Eastern Michigan University and has been on the clarinet faculty at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp for more than twenty years.

An advocate of new music, Jackson has been involved with many new works for clarinet. She has been a member of commissioning consortiums for solo and ensemble works by composers including James Stephenson, Roger Zare, and Daniel Baldwin. World premieres include Zodiacal Light, by Roger Zare, at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Whispers and Evocations, by Peter Terry, at the ClarinetFest Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Jackson can be heard on several recordings, including They Were Mysterious Guests, by Zae Munn (Parma), and Music of Stephen Rush (Albany Records and available on iTunes). Additionally, she can be heard on recordings with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (ASV).

Jackson is a frequent soloist with the Eastern Michigan University Wind Symphony and Orchestra and has performed on basset horn with the Detroit Chamber Winds. She was Principal Clarinet of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México (Toluca, México). An active freelancer, she has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Martha Graham Dance Company, Grand Rapids Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera, Kalamazoo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Flint Symphony, Michigan Sinfonietta, and Michigan Opera Theatre.

She previously taught at University of Toledo, Sherwood Conservatory (Chicago), Conservatorio de Música del Estado de México, and adjunct clarinet faculty for University of Michigan and Western Illinois University. Jackson has presented recitals and masterclasses throughout the United States and Mexico.

Jackson holds degrees from New England Conservatory of Music (M.M.) and the University of Illinois (B.M.). Teachers include Harold Wright, John Bruce Yeh, Richard Waller, and George Townsend.

I believe in empowering students with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to explore creativity and achieve artistic excellence.