Cally Laughlin is a clarinetist based out of Chicago, IL. She is principal clarinet of the Racine Symphony Orchestra, a member of Lake Effect Clarinet Quartet, creator of Cally's Clarinet Channel on YouTube, and the clarinet instructor at York Community High School, Grammy Gold Signature School.
As a freelance clarinetist, Cally has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Quad City Symphony, and Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra among others. In 2021, Cally was appointed principal clarinet of the Racine Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Pasquale Laurino. Prior to her appointment with the RSO, she was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2016-2018. During her time in Civic, she was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with CSO clarinet coach John Bruce Yeh, tour with Yo-Yo Ma, and play under the baton of many conductors including Marin Alsop, Riccardo Muti, Christoph Eschenbach, Ken-David Masur, Teddy Abrams, Rossen Milanov, Joshua Weilerstein, Nicholas Kraemer, and Erina Yashima, among others.
As a member of Lake Effect Clarinet Quartet (LECQ), Cally performs and tours regularly around Chicago and the United States. In the fall of 2020, LECQ was selected to perform in the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, broadcast live on WFMT. LECQ has released multiple albums available for streaming, most recently
"Cooler by the Lake" in 2024, featuring original arrangements of works by Brahms, Joplin, Beach, Gershwin, and Holst. Past honors of LECQ include a presentation and performance at ClarinetFest in 2019 and 2017, and a summer residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute.
In addition to her work as a performer, Cally loves teaching and has a private studio in Chicago where she teaches both in-person and online lessons to students from all over the world. She has been the clarinet instructor at York Community High School (a Grammy Signature School) since 2013, and many of her students there have ranked among the top students in the state for B-flat, Bass, and E-flat clarinets over the years. Cally's passion for music and teaching inspired the creation of a light-hearted YouTube channel dedicated to a fun but informative approach to clarinet teaching and repertoire. Several of her videos and articles have been featured by Vandoren in the weekly issue of WAVE. She has been a guest on several podcasts including “The Candid Clarinetist," "Clarineat," and "Surviving Classical."
A native of Granite City in Southern Illinois, Cally moved to Chicago in 2005 to attend college at DePaul University. There she completed both her Master's degree in Clarinet Performance (2011, with distinction), and Bachelor's degree in Clarinet Performance (2009, cum laude). While At DePaul, she studied orchestral, solo, and chamber music repertoire in addition to clarinet pedagogy with both Larry Combs and Julie DeRoche. Cally also took lessons with John Bruce Yeh and Stephen Williamson during her membership with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. While Cally's pedagogical ideas have been strongly influenced by her teachers at DePaul, she also had the pleasure of building a strong foundation during her high school years studying with Jeanine York-Garesche (St. Louis, MO).
Outside of her musical endeavors, Cally has many outside interests including international travel, exploring national parks, geology, fitness, nutrition, sewing, drawing, and sharing pets with her cat Luke. She enjoys spending quality time with her life partner Dan and with family and friends.
