Bonade, Daniel, 1896-1976

Daniel Bonade, Swiss-born American clarinetist, teacher and writer, was born in 1896 in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the son of two prominent musicians: Louis and Esther Bonade. He began studying the clarinet at the age of eight with Ferdinand Capelle in Geneva. After Louis Bonade's death, the family moved to France where Bonade studied with Henri Lefebvre, outstanding pupil of Cyril Rose. Bonade's sister, Marie, later married Lefebvre. In 1910, Bonade entered the Paris Conservatoire and in 1913 won the prestigious Premier Prix while studying with Proper Mimart.

In 1916 while touring the United States with Diaghileff's Ballets Russes, Bonade played for Leopold Stokowski who offered him the principal clarinet position of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1930 Bonade left the Philadelphia Orchestra and continued his orchestral career with positions in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, and the NBC Orchestra.

As a faculty member of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Juilliard School of Music he trained many successful clarinetists in the United States from 1920 to 1960. His students became members of top-ranked American orchestras and included Robert McGinnis, Robert Marcellus, Mitchell Lurie, Ignatius Gennusa, Anthony Gigliotti, and Bernard Portnoy.

Through Bonade's affiliation with the G. Leblanc Corporation, a leading-clarinet manufacturer in Paris, France and Kenosha, Wisconsin, he developed and marketed his mouthpiece, ligature, and reeds. He also published several books on clarinet playing and wrote articles for The Leblanc Bandsman and Symphony magazine. Called the "Dean of American Clarinet Teachers," Bonade's legacy continues through his students and his students' students; many who are teaching at major U.S. conservatories and universities today. Bonade passed away on November 11, 1976, in Cannes, France.