Riverdale Park Clarinet Academy
RPCA is a collaboration between Riverdale Park Arts and Lohff & Pfeiffer USA. Located in Riverdale Park, MD, the center welcomes students of all ages to learn and study clarinet. A semester of lessons includes 10 weekly lessons and a closing recital performance at the Riversdale House Museum. Faculty include some of the finest musicians in the DMV, including Prof. Robert DiLutis, University of Maryland, Alex Dudkin, UMD Fellowship Winner, and Andrew Zhang, MM. Each semester we will create a program designed specifically for you and the best part is....there is no cost to you. All students receive full tuition. To apply for a spot in the program please visit robertdilutis.com or email us at: [email protected].
Starting Fall 2024!
APPLY
RPCA is a collaboration between Riverdale Park Arts and Lohff & Pfeiffer USA. Located in Riverdale Park, MD, the center welcomes students of all ages to learn and study clarinet. A semester of lessons includes 10 weekly lessons and a closing recital performance at the Riversdale House Museum. Faculty include some of the finest musicians in the DMV, including Prof. Robert DiLutis, University of Maryland, Alex Dudkin, UMD Fellowship Winner, and Andrew Zhang, MM. Each semester we will create a program designed specifically for you and the best part is....there is no cost to you. All students receive full tuition. To apply for a spot in the program please visit robertdilutis.com or email us at: [email protected].
Starting Fall 2024!
APPLY
Meet the Faculty
Alex Dudkin
Alexander Dudkin is a clarinetist based in the DC/Maryland metropolitan area. He earned his bachelor's in clarinet performance from the University of Maryland where he studied with professor Robert DiLutis. His other mentors include Sidney Forrest, Lawrence Bocaner, Laura Grantier, E. Michael Richards, and David Drosinos. Alex is currently a master's student at the University of Maryland where he holds the fellowship clarinet position and plays in the university's symphony orchestra. Alex is an active freelancer in the metropolitan area, often playing with local wind ensembles and orchestras. Having played clarinet since the age of 10, Alex has played under well-respected conductors such as Jason Fetig, H. Robert Reynolds, Michael Votta, Andrea Brown, Steve Hackman, and more. In his free time, Alex loves to be active by playing basketball or going on hikes! 
Andrew Zhang
Always seeking new opportunities, clarinetist Andrew Zhang frequently finds himself performing in a variety of settings. As a highly sought after musician, Zhang has played at many of the finest venues in the DMV area, including The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He has played alongside members of the National Symphony Orchestra and Protestra. However, Zhang is not just a classical musician - he has had many opportunities to perform both clarinet and saxophone in jazz and popular styles, including in the pit orchestra for Side Show and at MAGFest, an annual video game convention hosted at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. Zhang has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland where he studied with Professor Robert DiLutis and a Master’s Degree from Western Michigan University, where he studied with Dr. Ellen Breakfield-Glick and served as a studio graduate assistant. At both institutions, he frequently played principal roles at their respective top orchestras and bands. At WMU, Andrew also played with Western Winds - an ensemble composed of both faculty and students - and Birds on a Wire, the school's new music ensemble. |
Robert DiLutis
Robert DiLutis is the professor of clarinet at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the principal clarinetist of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. DiLutis previously served as professor of clarinet at the Louisiana State University School of Music from 2009-2012. He has also held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman School of Music. DiLutis has served on the faculties of St. Mary’s University in Texas and Nazareth College in New York. His recent recitals and masterclasses have included the University of Georgia, University of California at Northridge, University of South Carolina, Catholic University of America and the International Clarinet Conference in Assisi, Italy. Born in Baltimore, MD, to a family of musicians, DiLutis studied first at the Peabody Conservatory with William Blayney and later at the Juilliard School with David Weber, principal clarinetist of the NYC Ballet. In 1989 he made his Carnegie Hall Recital debut as the winner of the Artist International Chamber Music Competition. As a soloist, DiLutis has performed with ensembles such as the San Antonio Symphony, LSU Wind Ensemble, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. DiLutis has performed and toured with the New York Philharmonic and is currently co-director of the Clarinet Academy of America, an intensive summer program for advanced clarinetists in high school and college. In addition to his performance career, DiLutis is the creator of the Reed Machine, a reed making device used by top professionals around the world. In 2013, DiLutis created a new chamber music series at the historic Riversdale House Museum in Riverdale, MD, and has been awarded Individual Performing Artist Grants in both 2014 and 2018 from the Maryland State Counsel for the Arts. DiLutis is an artist for Buffet Crampon, Rovner, Lohff & Pfeiffer, and Selmer and has recorded on the Delos and Tonsehen labels. |