The Clarinet Camerata of Mexico
The renowned chamber orchestra of
Mexico’s most outstanding young clarinetists
Linktree: linktr.ee/theclarinetcamerataofmexico
Arquetopia Foundation offers intensive classical music instruction to young musicians in Puebla, preparing serious emerging artists to secure university and conservatory scholarships abroad as well as professional opportunities. Arquetopia’s teaching method meets international standards —modeled after U.S. master’s degree programs— and focuses on wind instruments and ensemble participation. Instruction is conducted in Spanish. The goal is to elevate the quality of artistic performance, analysis, and production while fostering a critical mindset as part of the creative process.
Every student accepted into the program receives a full-tuition scholarship and high-level, ongoing musical instruction —both individual and ensemble-oriented— alongside masterclasses and collaborations with prominent national and international musicians and distinguished professors. Instruction and rehearsals culminate in opportunities to perform in local, regional, and international recitals and concerts, including participation in The Clarinet Camerata of Mexico, a world-renowned orchestra dedicated to the clarinet family. Standout young musicians have the unique opportunity to perform alongside numerous professional artists who also serve as the program’s mentors.
In addition to boosting self-esteem, participants develop skills in concentration, communication, cooperation, teamwork, and mathematics, as well as in goal-setting and achievement, all of which improve their chances of completing their academic education. Furthermore, they build local and international connections within the music education and professional sectors, gain a broader understanding of Mexican and foreign cultures, and benefit from a healthy, inclusive, and productive experience.
Please e-mail clarinetcamerata@arquetopia.org for more information about this program and scholarship availability.
Christopher Davis
Professor/Maestro and Artistic Director
As an international soloist and symphonic, chamber and opera musician, north-American clarinetist and conductor Christopher Davis has been active professionally for more than 35 years. He has performed as principal/solo clarinetist of the Kobe (Japan) City Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Salt Lake Symphony, Utah Philharmonia, Utah Musical Theatre, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Nevada Opera Theatre, and the College Band Directors National Association Intercollegiate Band (of the USA and Canada), among others, and is also a respected music educator and arranger.
Chris has given solo, chamber music and symphony concerts coast-to-coast in the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico, having collaborated and performed with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Rachel Barton, Zuill Bailey, Andre Watts, Leslie Howard, Frederick Fennell, Col. John Bourgeois, Takayoshi “Tad” Suzuki, Luciano Pavarotti, Frederica von Stade, Joe Hisaishi, Andrea Bocelli, Mandy Patinkin, Linda Eder, and Anne Murray. As a teenager, Chris performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto as featured soloist in a nationally televised youth orchestra showcase concert for United States President George H.W. Bush. He was the soloist in the Nevada premiere of the Howard Blake Clarinet Concerto and has also premiered works of composers Eric Ewazen, Daron Hagen, Nolan Stolz, and Jiaming Chen.
Chris has performed on the soundtracks of 13 films. He is the past winner of numerous solo competitions and is a frequent guest soloist with orchestras and bands. He earned degrees in clarinet performance and in psychology on full orchestral scholarships from the University of Utah and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas while serving as the principal/solo clarinetist of each institution’s premier concert ensembles. His principal clarinet teachers over the years were Kathy Pope (Ballet West Orchestra), Raphael Sanders (San Francisco Symphony), and Felix Viscuglia (Boston Symphony). Chris studied in Los Angeles intensively with Kalman Bloch (Los Angeles Philiharmonic) and Mitchell Lurie (USC), and he has performed for the master classes of Béla Kovács, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, David Shifrin, Jon Manasse (American Ballet and Metropolitan Opera), Mitchell Lurie, Kalman Bloch, Christie Lundquist (Utah Symphony), Seiki Shinohe (Berlin Symphony), Kohichi Hamanaka (NHK Symphony, Japan), and Michèle Gingras.
Chris has been teaching clarinet since 1987 and had one of the most prominent clarinet studios in the western USA for two decades. His students have been first-prize winners and finalists at state-level, national, and international competitions. For seven years, he was the director of The Davis Honors Clarinet Sinfonia (the acclaimed performing ensemble of his top students in the USA) and is now director of its Mexican counterpart, The Clarinet Camerata of Mexico, the internationally renowned chamber orchestra comprised of the top students of The Arquetopia Clarinet Institute which has become the most respected ensemble of its kind in Latin America. Chris has been a popular adjudicator of solo and chamber music competitions in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona since 1993. He was the clarinet specialist/clinician for the Clark County School District for eight years, and for three years he served as the Nevada State Chair of the International Clarinet Association.
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Chris has made Kobe, Japan and Québec, Canada home during his performing career.
Chris is an Ambassador Artist of Rovner® Products, world-class manufacturer of handmade woodwind accessories.
Our International Board of Directors
Sponsors of The Arquetopia Clarinet Institute
Executive Board
QUETZALINA SÁNCHEZ DE MERLO, President (Mexico) •
JENNY WRIGHT-TOLEN (USA)
Advisory Board
DIMITRI ASHKENAZY (Switzerland) • IOAN DOBRINESCU (Romania) • SCOT HUMES (USA) • MATT JOHNSTON (Netherlands) • KENICHI KODA (Japan) • CHAIPRUCK MEKARA (Thailand) •
JUAN A. PÉREZ (Spain) • RAFAEL PRADO (Mexico) • LYNN REEDER (USA) • CITLALLI ROSAS (Mexico) • ELEANOR WEINGARTNER (Mexico)