Described as “inviting and melodic” by the International Clarinet Association, Croatian-American clarinetist Michelle Hromin specializes in contemporary and experimental music. She uses mediums such as spoken word, electronics, and improvisation alongside her playing to explore her identity, heritage, and human relationships. 

 

Michelle has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Iklectik, and the Austrian Cultural Forum, and with groups such as the, International Chamber Orchestra of America, Fifth House Ensemble, Lisa Bielawa’s Broadcast from Here series, Explore Ensemble, Audentia Ensemble, and International Contemporary Ensemble. She was recently featured in CNN’s 2021 4th of July Special performing with singer Billy Ray Cyrus and has collaborated with the Metropolitan Opera and Grammy-award winning countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo to give a preview performance of Philip Glass’s opera Ahknaten at the Brooklyn Museum. Michelle is the winner of the 2022 RCM Contemporary Prize.

 

To promote her Croatian heritage, Michelle launched Kalendar: 12 Miniatures for Solo Clarinet, a year-long project that aims to bring attention to the South Slavic region of Europe. Through her collaboration with Macedonian-Canadian composer Michael Spiroff, Michelle premiered 12 new miniatures based on the 12 months of the Slavic Calendar over the course of 2021 and self-released a two-volume EP Kalendar: 12 Miniatures for Solo Clarinet, available to purchase on Bandcamp.

 

An advocate for new music, Michelle has commissioned and performed dozens of new works. She has performed in the 1:2:1 Winds Festival, Ensemble Evolution in collaboration with International Contemporary Ensemble, Fresh Inc Festival, and with the pollinate program with amanda+james to curate, create, and bring attention to music of living composers. Michelle is also a 2022 Fellow with the Bang on a Can Festival. 

 

As Artistic Director of standard issue, a new music collective aiming to explore the archetypal boundaries within music and its culture, she has performed and curated concerts with the group that promote experimental music accessibility and inclusivity. Recent engagements include Voice of Reason, a curated concert at Royal College of Music’s FestivALL that highlighted works by Julia Wolfe, inti figgis-vizueta, Mary Kouyoumdjian, and Michelle Hromin. 

 

Splitting her time between New York and London, Michelle is a teaching artist with In The Pocket NYC, a collective of teaching musicians aimed to nourish the presence of quality live music and music education. She is a woodwind tutor Tri-Borough Music Hub, in addition to maintaining an active private teaching studio. Michelle is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music (BM - Clarinet Performance ‘21) where she studied with Jon Manasse and is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London (MPerf ‘23) with generous support from the Frankopan Fund and Royal College of Music.