Vanessa Davis
Dr. Vanessa Davis is a clarinetist, professor, and writer based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. An avid performer, Dr. Davis has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada as a soloist. She regularly gives masterclasses and recitals at colleges and universities across the United States. As an ensemble musician, she plays clarinet and bass clarinet in the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, second and Eb clarinet with the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared with the Texarkana Symphony, Allen Philharmonic, McKinney Philharmonic and Sherman Symphonies while actively freelancing throughout DFW. Prior to current appointments, she performed in the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, and freelanced in Boston.
In addition to her schedule of performances, Dr. Davis is an active university professor. Currently, she teaches at McLennan College, North Central Texas College, and Laredo College. Her students have been successful in reaching their goals and being awarded college scholarships, getting jobs, and successfully moving on to other institutions post-graduation. Prior appointments include Stephen F. Austin State University, the University of North Texas, and Ithaca College.
Dr. Davis is also an active member of several professional organizations. She is Chair of the International Clarinet Association College and Pre-Professional Engagement Committee. She is also the Audio Reviews Editor of the College Music Society Symposium Journal. She is a contributor to the journal of the International Clarinet Association, The Clarinet, and has contributed to both the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Journal, the Symposium Journal, and The Instrumentalist. Committed to education, she regularly gives clinics and masterclasses at colleges and universities throughout the United States and during the 2022 – 2023 academic year will make appearances at Angelo State University, Brigham Young University, Texas Tech University, New Mexico State University, Eastern New Mexico University, West Texas A and M, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
An active member of the clarinet community she is the Chair of the International Clarinet Association College and Pre-Professional Engagement Committee, the Audio Editor of the Symposium Journal of the College Music Society, and an audio and book reviewer for The Clarinet Journal. As a writer, she has contributed to The Clarinet Journal, Symposium, the NACWPI Journal, and The Instrumentalist. Her dissertation won the Toulouse Dissertation Award in Fine Arts.
Dr. Davis is a Buffet Crampon Performing Artist and a D’Addario Woodwind Artist. She holds a Doctorate in Clarinet Performance from the University of North Texas where she studied with Kimberly Cole Luevano. She has also studied with Richard MacDowell, Elizabeth Gunlogson, and David Seiler. For more information about Dr. Davis, her performances, and teaching philosophy please visit her website: https://www.vanessadavisclarinet.com.
Office: PAC 116 Phone: (254) 299-8283 Email: vandavis@mclennan.edu