Anthony McGill (born July 17, 1979) is an American classical clarinetist from Chicago, Illinois. McGill studied at the Merit School of Music, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Curtis Institute of Music. He served as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for ten years before being appointed principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic in 2014. McGill is one of the few African American musicians to hold a principal position in a major orchestra and serves on the faculty at the Peabody Institute and Mannes College of Music. In 2000, McGill received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, followed by the Avery Fisher Prize in 2020. Alongside Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gabriela Montero, he performed John Williams’s “Air and Simple Gifts” for the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama. His discography includes the albums Anthony McGill (2010) and American Stories (2022).
