Doreen Ketchens with the Louisiana Philharmonic * Just a Closer Walk with Thee

Doreen 'The Clarinet Queen' Ketchens is one of the true standard bearers for NOLA clarinet in my generation. She's taken the tradition from the masters before her and added her distinct voice and soul. I know folks who were worried the tradition would cease to be living after the last generation or so, but the vitality Doreen brings is undeniable, and the new angles she illuminates on the repertoire are uniquely fresh, undeniably pointing to continued fertile ground.  

Doreen and I are both alums of the Hartt School, and even shared a clarinet professor, though we never met (she left just shortly before I arrived), and both of us struck out on unique paths. I've long been inspired by her trailblazing and insistence on this profound music, though. 

Brava! Long live the Clarinet Queen!