Blue Ridge Orchestra's
Conductor and Music Director

Ronald D. Clearfield

Classically trained cellist Ron Clearfield has branched into a diverse range of musical styles. In addition to working with such classical music icons as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland and Seiji Ozawa, Clearfield has accompanied such pop artists as George Benson, Linda Ronstadt and Dionne Warwick. He was a featured solo cellist on Judy Collins'Christmas Special for the AE network. On his own recordings, Dream Manifestation and Time On Earth, Clearfield skillfully blends the classical tradition with world music and jazz influences to create a highly atmospheric sound. The grandson of a pianist and teacher, who emigrated to the United States from Russia, and the son of a clarinet player, Clearfield studied violin from the age of ten. He switched to cello shortly afterwards. Receiving a Masters degree in cello performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, he made his professional debut with the Indianapolis Symphony, the same group that his father had launched his career with more than two decades before. Clearfield remained with the Indianapolis Symphony only briefly before he left to seek work as a freelance cellist in Philadelphia, Houston, New York and Miami. Building a studio in his home, he recorded three self-produced albums before signing with the EverSound label in 1998. His debut album, Dream Manifestation, was released a few months later. He conducts the 70-piece Blue Ridge Orchestra, the Asheville Youth Orchestra and is a cellist with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra . "The Blue Ridge Orchestra is an opportunity for talented people in our community to play classical music," says Clearfield, "and it is also an opportunity for people to hear beautiful symphonic music at a very affordable cost."

      for more information
call 828-683-4425 or 828-252-0643