Illinois Woodwind Academy

Dileep Gangolli is an active music educator and performer based in Chicago.  The founder and director of the Illinois Woodwind Academny, he is member of the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra, and the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, he has also appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the Ars Viva Orchestra. 

He is a member of the music faculty at Near North Montessori School and has taught at VanderCook College of Music, North Park University, and the University of Puget Sound.  Prior to establishing his career in Chicago, he was a member of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

 The founder and artistic director of the Sheridan Chamber Players, Mr. Gangolli’s other chamber music appearances include participation in the Washington Island Music Festival, the Token Creek Music Festival under the direction of John Harbison, and tours of Florida and New Brunswick as a member of the Atlantic Arts Trio. 

He is a frequent guest on WFMT’s Live from Studio One broadcasts and has appeared with leading Chicago chamber music groups such as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the New Center for Black Music Research Ensemble, and the Pilgrim Chamber Players.

Mr. Gangolli has also performed at the BVI Music Festival (British Virgin Islands), the Bay Chamber Concerts, and the Da Camera Society Concerts and has been a repeat performer on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess recital series. 

An enthusiastic performer of contemporary music, he has participated in several national and international tours and residencies including the Interlink Festival of Contemporary Music and the Istanbul Contemporary Music Festival.  Mr. Gangolli has appeared in recital at the annual conventions of the International Clarinet Association in 2006 and 2010.

Mr. Gangolli has recorded for the Crystal, Decca, Delos, and Erato labels.  For Crystal Records, he was part of an ongoing project of the Westwood Wind Quintet to record all twenty-four woodwind quintets of Anton Reicha. 

As a member of Present Music, he can be heard on recordings that feature the music of Michael Torke and Kamran Ince.  These recordings were done under the supervision of the composers. 

Mr. Gangolli has earned music degrees from Northwestern University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Washington. 

His private clarinet instructors include Robert Marcellus, Anthony Gigliotti, and Ronald Phillips. 

In 1986 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for advanced study in the United Kingdom.  He is a frequent contributor to The Clarinet, the official quarterly publication of the International Clarinet Association.