Dr. Suzanne Tirk
Associate Professor of Music (Clarinet)
Assistant Director for Recruitment and Engagement
Email: stirk@ou.edu
Clarinet Studio Links
Dr. Suzanne Tirk is Associate Professor of Clarinet and the Assistant Director of the School of Music in Recruitment and Engagement at the University of Oklahoma. A dynamic performer and teacher, Dr. Tirk has established a national and international reputation with numerous performance and masterclass presentations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As a member of Duo Iona and the Oak Trio, Dr. Tirk has been dedicated to the commissioning and performance of works for clarinet and trumpet, and clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, respectively. She has served as principal clarinet with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and Norman Philharmonic Orchestra, and has performed with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Classical Music Festival Orchestra. Having suffered from an overuse injury early in her career, Dr. Tirk’s research specialties revolve around mental practice techniques and the specific positioning and motion of the hands/fingers/arms in clarinetists suffering from overuse injuries.
In addition to the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Tirk has served on the faculties of the Interharmony International Music Festival (Arcidosso, Italy), Wichita State University, and Bemidji State University. Her students have been highly successful, holding university professorships and K-12 music positions, maintaining private studios, auditioning into symphony orchestras, military bands, and chamber ensembles, and working in the field of music business. During her tenure at Wichita State University, Dr. Tirk received the College of Fine Arts ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’ and performed with the ensemble in residence, Lieurance Woodwind Quintet. She can be heard on the recording of the Lieurance Quintet, Music from the Americas, released by Summit Records in 2011.
Active in several professional organizations, Dr. Tirk holds memberships with the International Clarinet Association, the College Music Society, the Performing Arts Medicine Association, the International Alliance for Women in Music, the National Association for Music Education, and the Oklahoma Music Educators Association. Dr. Tirk has written an article for The Instrumentalist magazine on clarinet fundamentals, and has presented clinics for the Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Orchestra Clinic, NAfME, the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, the Montana Music Educators Association, the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference, the Kansas Music Educators Association, the Kansas Bandmasters Association, the Senseney Music Total Band Director Workshop, and the Wichita Metropolitan Music Teachers Association.
Dr. Tirk holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and a Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. Her teachers have included Elsa Ludewig Verdehr, Charles Neidich, Theodore Oien, Colin Lawson, Fan Lei, and Richard Faria. Dr. Tirk is proud to serve as a Henri Selmer Paris Artist, performing on the Muse Bb and A clarinet.
