What Events and Festivals Does the International Clarinet Association Host?

Updated

The International Clarinet Association (ICA) runs a year-round calendar built around two flagship in-person festivals — ClarinetFest® and LowFest (the Low Clarinet Festival) — plus virtual events, competitions, and workshops. Anyone can browse the event pages on clarinet.org; some participation routes (attending, exhibiting, sponsoring, proposing a performance) are open through published calls, while others are tied to ICA membership. The site does not publish ticket prices or state that events are free, so check each event page for registration details.

ClarinetFest®: The Flagship Festival

ClarinetFest® is the ICA's main international festival, and the site lists future editions years in advance:

Year Location
2026 Incheon, South Korea
2027 Salt Lake City, Utah
2028 Monterrey, México

Past editions are also documented, including ClarinetFest® 2023, 2024, and 2025, each with a digital program book. The 2023 festival additionally has a "Global Community Map." Program books are a practical way to see what a typical festival includes — concerts, competitions, exhibits, and presentations — before deciding to attend or apply.

Ways to Take Part in ClarinetFest®

  • Attend — registration details live on each festival's page.
  • Exhibit — the site has a dedicated "Exhibit at ClarinetFest® 2027" page for organizations and vendors.
  • Sponsor — "ClarinetFest® 2027 Sponsorship Opportunities" outlines support levels for the Salt Lake City edition.
  • Perform — ClarinetFest® 2028 in Monterrey has a published "Call for Headlining Artist Performance Proposals."
  • Host a future festival — an "Apply to Host ClarinetFest® or LowFest" page explains the bidding route for institutions or organizations.

LowFest and the Low Clarinet Festival

LowFest is the ICA's festival devoted to low clarinets. Editions listed on the site include:

  • LowFest 2027 – Québec City, Canada, with a separate "Call for Proposals" page.
  • Low Clarinet Festival 2025, with its own program book.
  • Low Clarinet Festival 2023, also with a program book.

The pattern is consistent: each festival gets a page with practical details plus a program book after the event. If you play contrabass or bass clarinet, or program low-clarinet repertoire, the call-for-proposals pages are the entry point for proposing content.

Virtual Events and Online Programming

The ICA also runs online programming that does not require travel:

  • New Music Weekend — held in 2024 and 2025, focused on contemporary repertoire.
  • Clareidoscope — held in 2025 and 2026.
  • 2026 Clarinet Enthusiasts Virtual Workshop — aimed at enthusiasts rather than professionals.
  • Lunch and Learn Series — listed under Events on the member side of the site.
  • Virtual Conference Center — a hub for online sessions.

These are worth watching if you want ICA programming without committing to a festival trip, though access terms for each series are set on its own page.

Competitions and Related Programming

Festival activity overlaps with the ICA's competition calendar, which includes the Young Artist Competition, Junior Young Artist Competition, Orchestral Audition Competition, Composition Competition, and Research Competition. Winners are archived on the site. Competitions are a distinct track from festival attendance — entry requirements and deadlines are published per competition rather than on the festival pages.

How to Get Involved

  1. Pick your route. Attending, exhibiting, sponsoring, proposing a performance, or bidding to host are separate processes with separate pages.
  2. Check the relevant call. Proposals for LowFest 2027 (Québec City) and headlining performances for ClarinetFest® 2028 (Monterrey) are the currently posted opportunities.
  3. Use past program books as a model. They show the format and scope reviewers expect.
  4. Watch the Member Event Calendar for dates and the Lunch and Learn Series.
  5. Contact the ICA through the site for questions not answered on an event page.

A common snag: people assume one form covers everything. In practice, exhibiting, sponsoring, and performing each have their own submission path, and host applications are a separate institutional process. Read the specific page before preparing materials.

Membership and Events

Some listings — the Member Event Calendar, Lunch and Learn Series, and member discount programs — sit in the members' area, which suggests membership plays a role in access to certain programming. The site does not publish membership pricing on these pages, so confirm current terms on the membership page before assuming what is included.