The Musicians

Marci's Photo

Marci Gurnow (Bass Clarinet)

Member of the JSO: Since 2006

Hometown: Marietta, Georgia

Education: Marci earned her Bachelor’s degree in music performance from Southern Methodist University, where she studied with Paul Garner and Steve Girko, and received her Master’s degree in music performance from Northwestern University, where she studied with Russ Dagon and Lawrie Bloom.


Why the clarinet? I started off playing piano in fifth grade.  Once I started sixth grade, I was thrilled that I had the option of only having to read one line of music at a time if I chose to play in band.  It was a close call between clarinet and trombone, but clarinet was much easier to carry home on the bus!

Performance experience: Prior to her position with Jacksonville, Marci was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for three years. While in Chicago, she was privileged to play under renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, and Lorin Maazel. Marci has also performed with other orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic. She has participated in orchestral and chamber concerts at the Bellingham Festival of Music in Washington, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Marci is also a founding member of the Chicago-based International Chamber Artists and looks forward to her annual chamber music concerts with them.

Other instruments played: Anything in the clarinet family! I especially love the lower end of the clarinet spectrum, including the basset clarinet, basset horn, and bass clarinet.

Family: Marci’s mother lives in beautiful Colorado, her father is a golf pro in California, and her younger brother, the only other musician in the family, is a band director in south Florida. She also has two incredible cats, Cooper and Lexi.

Favorite composers: Marci is a Mahler fanatic and also loves the music of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, R. Strauss, Wagner and Bartok.

Hobbies and interests: In her free time, you can find Marci looking for her next challenge. She is addicted to rock climbing, yet despite the lack of rocks in Florida, she manages to get out and climb (in 11 different states and Canada so far). She also enjoys mountaineering. She summited Mt Rainier (14,410 ft) in 2009 on her 29th birthday and hopes to someday reach the top of Denali in Alaska. Back on flat land you can find her running, training for triathlons, and dreaming of her next trip. She is also a big fan of baseball and loves the Chicago Cubs.


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