Frank Celata joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1993 as Associate Principal Clarinet.
He has appeared as soloist on several occasions, including performances of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, Krommer’s Double Clarinet Concertoa concerto written for him by Gordon Kerry.
More recently he appeared as soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, under David Robertson at The National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing performing the virtuoso concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra, ‘Gnarly Buttons’ by American composer John Adams. He has also appeared as soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia.
On several occasions between 2003 and 2009 he appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra as guest Principal Clarinet, performing on international tours and recordings. More recently he appeared as guest Principal Clarinet with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London touring internationally and recording with them. Frank plays Principal Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra, comprising 110 of Australia’s leading musicians drawn from 47 orchestras around the world. He also serves on the board of the orchestra.
Frank has performed under many of the world’s leading conductors including Lorin Maazel, Ricardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit and Myun-whun Chung.
Frank is the founding member of one of Sydney’s leading chamber ensembles, the Sydney Soloists, consisting of Principal Players from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The group has performed in numerous live national broadcasts for the ABC and has also recorded for them.
He is also a dedicated teacher, and since 1994 has taught clarinet at the Sydney Conservatorium, where he is a Lecturer in Clarinet. He has taught many students who have gone on to leading positions in Australia and around the world. He has given masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatorium, Trinity College in London, The Australian National Academy of Music and was for several years, the Artistic Director of the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute (AISOI). In 2013 he joined the staff of the Conservatorium of Music in Hobart for three years as Lecturer in Orchestral and Chamber Music where he headed the Woodwind department.