PULLMAN —The International Clarinet Association (ICA) voted at its annual meeting in Oporto, Portugal to award an Honorary Life Membership to WSU music Professor Emeritus H. James Schoepflin.
Schoepflin will join the ranks of 29 international clarinet players and teachers honored by the organization over the years as the most significant contributors to the art of clarinet performance and pedagogy. Renowned jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco was also awarded an Honorary Life Membership in the same meeting.
Founded in 1974, the ICA is dedicated to fostering communication and fellowship of clarinetists around the world.
Playing an integral role in launching and developing the association’s official scholarly journal, “The Clarinet,” Schoepflin published the periodical from 1973 until 1983, after which he served as ICA treasurer and was a guest performer at annual ClarinetFests in Denver, Toronto and London.
Schoepflin joined the WSU music faculty in 1976, served on two occasions as director of the School of Music and was a founding member of the Solstice Wind Quintet, performing with the group until his retirement in 2005.
In addition, Schoepflin was principal clarinetist of the Cascade Festival of Music from 1988 to 1996, a member of the Spokane Symphony and conducted the Washington Idaho Symphony for 11 seasons.
Schoepflin and his wife Nancy live in Spokane, Wash., where they pursue their passion for travel and continue to practice and perform music for piano duet, two pianos, and clarinet and piano.
The ICA honor will be presented to Schoepflin in July at the awards ceremony of the 2010 International Clarinet Fest in Austin, Texas.
