Artist: Julian Bliss

Julian Bliss is a British clarinetist and clarinet designer. He has performed as a soloist, chamber and jazz musician, notably with his teacher Sabine Meyer. He also designed the Bliss Clarinet for instrument manufacturer Leblanc.

In 1997 Bliss began studying at The Purcell School for Young Musicians. Bliss earned his Postgraduate Artist's Diploma from Indiana University in 2001 at age 12, but he was not awarded his diploma until he graduated from high school.

He studied first with David Johnston at Harpenden, Paul Harris, then with Howard Klug at Indiana and with Sabine Meyer in Germany at the Musikhochschule Lübeck.

Bliss won the 2001 Concerto Soloists Young Artists Competition in Philadelphia. In 2002, he performed at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee (during the Prom at the Palace) by royal invitation. He also performed at the Queen's 80th birthday.

He has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Northern Chamber Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Sao Paulo Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He has performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Louvre in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Bliss also has a career as a chamber musician. He has collaborated with many of the world's top classical artists, including Joshua Bell, Carducci Quartet, James Baillieu, Julien Quentin, Kathryn Stott, Stephen Kovacevich, Elena Bashkirova, Julian Rachlin, Steven Isserlis and Hélène Grimaud. In 2022, composer John Mackey wrote his Clarinet Concerto "Divine Mischief" for Bliss, and was given its world premiere by Bliss and the Dallas Winds October 2022.