Robert Spady, clarinet
Robert Spady started playing clarinet as a boy in Edmonton. After studying at the University of Toronto and completing his Doctor of Music degeee at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2011 (with deeply appreciated support from the Anne Burrows Music Foundation), he is thrilled to find himself still in Edmonton, playing clarinet.
Robert is currently a full-time member of the Royal Canadian Artillery Band, which has taken him to Buckingham Palace, Normandy, and many a small-town parade in Alberta.
Over the years, Robert has performed with symphonies across North America, including the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, and the Missouri Symphony.
Robert leaps at the chance to play chamber music. While working on his doctoral thesis, he participated in the Carnegie Hall Workshops as a member of the Kolot New Music Ensemble, playing klezmer-influenced classical music. More recently, he has performed with New Music Edmonton, the C’MON Festival, and the Edmonton Recital Society. In 2018, Robert performed a clarinet and aerial rope duet with his (now) wife in a Firefly Theatre & Circus show.
Robert is a member of the WindRose Trio with Matthew Howatt (bassoon) and Beth Levia (oboe). In 2016, they were the first Canadian group to perform at the Harbin Summer Music Festival in China. At home and abroad, the WindRose Trio is dedicated to performing local new music and has commissioned more than a dozen works by Canadian composers.
Robert currently teaches clarinet at the University of Alberta.
