Tony Clements

Who is Tony Clements?

Tony Clements was the Principal Tubist of the San José Symphony from 1981 until its closure in 2001. He subsequently became Principal Tubist and a soloist with its successor, Symphony Silicon Valley.

Clements grew up in Brooklyn and Lindenhurst, New York state, and began playing the tuba at age seven. He was taught by Julius Rubin and Bill Barber, the latter of whom played with Gil Evans and Miles Davis, before moving to California aged fourteen. He attended college at California State University, Northridge, where he played tuba, bass trombone, euphonium and bass trumpet, and studied with Tommy Johnson and Roger Bobo before receiving symphony training with Mehli Mehta in the American Youth Symphony and Myung-Whun Chung in the Young Musicians' Foundation Debut Orchestra.

After joining the San José Symphony in 1981, he was the Principal Tubist for 21 seasons, during which he premiered a number of pieces for tuba and euphonium, as well as playing at music festivals and touring Japan with the California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo Wind Ensemble as guest soloist.