Through a decorated career in performance and education, clarinetist Ayslin Rice is one of northern California’s most noteworthy professional musicians. With an eye towards premiering new music as well as promoting gender equality within the classical scene, her energetic career has captured the attention of the classical music industry, including from outlets such as Voyage LA.
Based in San Francisco, Rice is honored to serve as one of Symphony Napa Valley’s Artists-in-Residence, a distinction she has held since 2017. In addition to performing regularly in the Symphony’s season programming, she has served as an educator to young students in preschools across the Bay Area, including Bel-Aire Preschool and Napa Preschool. In the classroom, Rice weaves together literary skills and singing, and instills musical joy in the students through not only short performances, but also tying musical concepts to themes in books.
In her career, Miss Rice has performed at a wide array of events, including a recording session at Dolby Studios for a product release, the Nutcracker in Napa, and the SFCM concert hall as an alumni performer. She has premiered nearly a dozen compositions, performing them in venues ranging from the Bay Area’s premier recital halls to an abandoned factory in Los Angeles. As an artist conscious of advancing gender equality in classical and new music, her second master's recital featured a program entirely of female composers.
Rice has a deep love and appreciation for teaching, and is one of the Bay Area’s most active pedagogues. In her advanced teaching, she cultivates not just tone and technique, but an emphasis on a strong musical foundation, a growth mindset, and empathy and self-care, drawn from her unique personal experiences in her formative years. Her reputation for teaching excellence has led to her current robust private studio of students aged 9—65.
Versatile in her artistic contributions, Rice also architects musical experiences behind the scenes. As contractor and musical consultant, Rice has organized numerous pops and community concerts with a skillset ranging from selecting top-flight musicians to tailoring repertoire selection to locating venues. Outside of her musical pursuits, she served in the conservatory’s orchestra library, where she operated as a student assistant from 2017-2019.
Ayslin began her clarinet journey at the age of nine, in the year 2004. Ayslin holds a Master of Music diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music diploma from California State University, Long Beach; Rice graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors from CSULB, and Summa Cum Laude honors from SFCM. She is grateful to her current and former pedagogues, Jeff Anderle and Helen Goode-Castro. To learn more and inquire about teaching, contracting services, and more, contact Ayslin directly. Ayslin performs on a Buffet Crampon R13 soprano set (Bb and A), and a Buffet Crampon Prestige bass clarinet.