Clarinetist and educator Katia Sofia Waxman is passionate about collaborative music-making, innovative programming, and mentoring young musicians. As Instructor of Clarinet at Interlochen Arts Academy, she brings these interests together through her work as a performer and teacher. 

An avid chamber musician, Katia has collaborated with the Newport String Project, members of Decoda, and the Green Room Ensemble. She has received awards from the M-Prize, Discover, and Barnett chamber music competitions and has continued to deepen her commitment to collaborative music-making through annual studies at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire. 

As an orchestral musician, Katia has performed at Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall in New York, Symphony Center in Chicago, the Rudolfinum in Prague, Béla Bartók Hall in Budapest, and Teatro Mayor in Bogotá. She has performed under conductors including Marin Alsop, Riccardo Muti, David Robertson, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Xian Zhang. Her engagements include performances with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra and Princeton Symphony Orchestra, as well as serving as Acting Second Clarinet with Sarasota Opera during the 2024 season. 

Katia has appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series and the Newport String Project’s One-to-One Concerts, and has collaborated with Thresh Dance Company at New York City’s Flea Theater. Her festival experience includes fellowships at the Music Academy of the West and Bowdoin International Music Festival, alongside appearances at the Chautauqua Institution, Brevard Music Center, and Decoda Chamber Music Festival. 

Committed to fostering a more diverse and equitable classical music landscape, Katia participated in Oberlin Conservatory’s Music Leadership Career Community pilot program and served as a teaching fellow with Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. 

She holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jon Manasse, and degrees in economics and clarinet performance from Oberlin College & Conservatory, where she studied with Richard Hawkins. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan.