Kyle Coughlin
Clarinetist, Saxophonist, Performer, Educator, Composer, Author

Kyle Coughlin is a versatile musician who is proficient in styles ranging from classical to jazz to popular music. He earned both his Masters and Doctorate degrees in clarinet performance from the Peabody Conservatory, as a student of Loren Kitt, and he received his Bachelors degree from the University of Maryland as a student of Ed Walters.

Coughlin is an active recitalist and has given numerous performances across the country. He also has been a featured soloist performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Loyola DaCamera, conducted by Earnest Liotti, and the Columbia Orchestra, conducted by Jason Love. Honors include an Individual Artist Award in Solo Performance from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2007, first prize in the Professional Division of the Baltimore Music Club, and finalist in the Buffet North American Clarinet Competition.

Coughlin has released two jazz CDs, When Afternoons Return, and In the Shadow of Palms. He has played at every major venue in the Baltimore-Washington area, including Blues Alley, the King of France Tavern, the New Haven Lounge, the Baltimore-Washington Jazzfest, and the Kennedy Center. In 2004, he was a featured soloist at ClarinetFest, the annual conference of the International Clarinet Association. He has performed with several outstanding New York based jazz musicians, including Terell Stafford, George Colligan, Alex Norris, and Lou Rainone. As a sideman, Coughlin is a featured soloist on the CD Better Days Ahead by John Blount, former lead trumpeter with the U.S. Navy Commodores jazz ensemble. He has also recorded with guitarist Tim Jenkins, trumpeter Todd Butler, and guitarist Mark Stanley.

Coughlin has worked as a freelance musician with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Maryland Philharmonic, the National Gallery Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and orchestras at the Kennedy Center, the Lyric Opera House, Arena Stage, Wolf Trap, and Merriweather Post Pavilion. He has also performed with Manhattan Transfer, the Four Freshman, Ray Charles, Christine Baranski, Carol Channing, Tommy Tune, Marie Osmond, Tony Curtis, the Moody Blues, Roger Daltrey, and many others. His musical journeys have led him far beyond his home state to concerts throughout the East Coast, and Evian, France.

An active and enthusiastic educator, Coughlin is on the faculty of Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland, where he directs the school’s jazz ensemble, teaches improvisation classes, and teaches private lessons. His former students have gone on to the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Institute, Berklee College of Music, University of Florida, University of Maryland, and Towson University, among others. He has written two educational books, Beginning Jazz Clarinet Studies, Volumes 1 and 2, which are published by SkyLeap Music. His Beginning Jazz Saxophone Studies and Beginning Clarinet Songbook are on the way. He has won several honors for his compositions, including a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2003. His composition credits also include works for Fox Television, the Discovery Channel, and several commercial jingles.