About Ron Clearfield
An accomplished cellist, composer and conductor, Ron Clearfield is an honors graduate from the New England Conservatory of Music studying with Brazilian cellist Aldo Parisot and string pedagogues Joseph Silverstein and Leon Barzan. Ron attended the Berkshire Music Festival (Tanglewood) as a fellowship student for two consecutive summers. Ron Clearfield comes from a lineage of gifted musicians. His father was a professional clarinetist who performed with major orchestras through out the United States and Ron’s grandfather, originally from Russia, was a fine pianist and teacher. Ron performs on a beautifully restored French cello made in 1696.
As a cellist, Ron Clearfield was previously a member of the Indianapolis Symphony, the Miami Philharmonic and the Miami Opera Orchestra. He has performed with such pop notables as George Benson, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt and Dionne Warwick as well as with classical luminaries Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Aaron Copland and Seiji Ozawa. Ron was featured on national TV as solo cellist for the A&E Judy Collins Christmas Special at the Biltmore Estate.
As a composer, Ron has released three critically acclaimed recordings on the EverSound record label: Dream Manifestation, Time on Earth and most recently, Music in the Silence. He was interviewed on Public Radio International in a special program featuring his music and has toured the United States performing music from his CDs on a national Borders Books tour. Ron has scored for numerous television and film projects including: Homeward Journey, aired on PBS, and the film Opening Doors Within, which won first prize in the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival.
As a conductor, Ron Clearfield studied conducting with Leon Barzan while at the New England Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with Robert Baker, Joseph Eger and Daniel Meyer. He served as Assistant Conductor of the Miami Beach Community Orchestra from 1980-1988. Since 1998, Ron has been Music Director and Conductor of the Blue Ridge Orchestra and the Asheville Youth Orchestra since 1994. Just recently, Ron was appointed as the conductor of the UNC-Asheville Symphony.