Adam Schay, clarinetist and bass clarinetist, is a native of Phoenix, Arizona. Praised for his “sensitive” and “musical” playing by renowned conductor JoAnn Falletta, he is currently principal clarinet of ProMusica Arizona, an active freelance musician and private clarinet instructor, and a regular substitute player with multiple regional orchestras throughout the state. Adam is also Arizona’s premier vintage clarinet equipment expert, specializing in vintage Buffet R13 clarinets and Chedeville and Kaspar mouthpieces. Following a blind audition, Adam was a finalist for principal clarinet of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and performed a trial week during their October 2022 concert cycle, ¡Celebraciones! Adam has attended the 2019 Henri SELMER Paris Summer Clarinet Academy at Michigan State University, its 2020 and 2021 editions virtually, the 2020 Eastman Virtual Professional Clarinet Auditions Workshop, the 2023 National Music Festival in Chestertown, Maryland, and the 2022 and 2023 Pierre Monteux School and Music Festival in, serendipitously, his family’s summer home of Hancock, Maine. He has performed extensively under the batons of Dr. Jason Caslor, Julie Desbordes, Dr. Jamal Duncan, Bill Humbert, Matthew Kasper, Cal Stewart Kellogg, and Dr. Tiffany Lu and worked with esteemed conductors such as Arthur Fagen, Neal Gittleman, Kenneth Kiesler, Dr. Charles Latshaw, Dr. Jeffrey Meyer, Ludovic Morlot, Tito Muñoz, Dr. Daniel Keith O’Bryant, Dr. David A. Rahbee, Dr. Markand Thakar, Kensho Watanabe, William C. White, Juliius Williams, and Hugh Wolff, as well as numerous up-and-coming conductors at the Monteux School. He studied clarinet for 2 years at Glendale Community College with Dr. Stefanie Gardner and then for 4 years at Arizona State University, Tempe with Dr. Joshua Gardner and Dr. Robert Spring. He has additionally studied with Steve Hanusofski, associate principal and bass clarinet of The Phoenix Symphony, and taken lessons with Phoenix Symphony principal clarinet Alex Laing and with some of the world’s leading clarinetists through the Selmer Academy; he has played in masterclasses for Julian Bliss, Nikola Djurica, Corrado Giuffredi, Jonathan Gunn, Dr. Tasha Warren-Yehuda, and Dr. Guy Yehuda. Other major musical influences include Gainesville Orchestra principal clarinet Dale Fedele and the clarinet greats of the past: among others, Ralph McLane, Donald Montanaro and Harold Wright. While not practicing or performing, he can be found watching VALORANT esports tournaments, NBA basketball, and/or reruns of Law & Order with his talkative black cat, Shira.