Amanda McCandless

Amanda McCandless, Professor of Clarinet, joined the faculty at UNI in 2008 and since that time has built one of the largest and most successful clarinet studios in the region. During the 2023-24 academic year, she also served as Interim Associate Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences. 

McCandless has performed recitals throughout the U.S. and abroad, recently performing in Dublin, Ireland at the International Clarinet Association’s 2024 ClarinetFest. She has appeared as a guest soloist with the Caxias do Sul (Brazil) Symphony Orchestra and appeared as guest soloist with the UNI Wind Symphony on their tour of northern Italy. She has also been a guest artist and clinician at the China Conservatory (Beijing, China), Sichuan Conservatory (China), Universidade de Caxias do Sul (Brazil), Universidade do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), Universidade de Brasília (Brazil), the Universidade Federal de Goiás (Brazil), the Bolivian National Conservatory of Music in La Paz, Bolivia, and at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. She has been a guest artist at many international, national, and regional clarinet events, including the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, Flute New Music Consortium Festival, NACWPI National Convention, College Music Society’s regional and national conventions, the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, Michigan State University’s Clarinet Spectacular and the Eastern Kentucky University Clarinet Festival. She is also a sought-after guest recitalist and clinician at many universities in the U.S. Dr. McCandless is also Second Clarinetist in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra. She previously held the position of Principal Clarinet of the Tulsa Symphony and Ballet Orchestras and has performed as a substitute clarinetist in orchestras throughout the Midwest.

McCandless is a noted advocate and performer of clarinet works by women composers. She has released two albums of unaccompanied clarinet works by women composers on the Mark Records Label, with a third volume premiering this year. She has commissioned works by composers Theresa Martin, Rebecca Burkhardt, and Daijana Wallace, and regularly presents concerts highlighting the work of underrepresented composers. In 2022, Dr. McCandless received a grant from the Iowa Arts Council to present presentations about works by women and underrepresented composers to primary and secondary school students, with the goal of inspiring students of every identity to pursue artistic participation and engagement.

Established in 2015, Dr. McCandless hosts UNI Clarinet Choir Day every November as a fun, educational opportunity for clarinetists of all ages to come together and enjoy making music. Typically hosting 75-100 clarinetists per year, the event attracts clarinetists from the ages of 10 to 75 years old. She also frequently travels across Iowa to give master classes for middle and high school age students, hoping that music can become a lifelong endeavor regardless of one’s career, identity, or circumstances. 

McCandless holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Master of Music degree from Michigan State University, where she was a student of Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University, where she was a student of Connie Rhoades.