Francesco Celata joined the Sydney Symphony as Associate Principal Clarinet in 1993.
Francesco (Frank) Celata graduated from the Victorian College of
the Arts in 1987, having studied with Phillip Miechel and Pamela
Bloom. He then studied in Amsterdam with Piet Honingh
(Concertgebouw Orchestra) and Siena with Giuseppe Garbarino. In
1991 he returned to Australia, where he was appointed Principal
Clarinet with the then Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra.
He joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1993 as Associate
Principal Clarinet and has appeared as soloist on several
occasions, including performances of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto,
Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, Krommer's Double Clarinet
Concerto with Principal Clarinet Lawrence Dobell, and a concerto
written for him by Gordon Kerry.
He has also appeared as soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia, and on a number of
occasions between 2003 and 2009 he appeared with the London
Symphony Orchestra as guest Principal Clarinet, performing on
international tours and recordings. In 2011 he played Principal
Clarinet in the inaugural performances of the Australian World
Orchestra, comprising 110 of Australia's leading musicians drawn
from 47 orchestras around the world.
Frank Celata is a founding member of one of Sydney's leading
chamber ensembles, the Sydney Soloists, and is a member of the New
Sydney Wind Quintet.
He is also a dedicated teacher, and since 1994 has taught
clarinet at the Sydney Conservatorium, where he is a Lecturer in
Clarinet. He has given masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatorium
and Trinity College in London, and is the Artistic Director of the
Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute (AISOI). In
2013 he joined the staff of the Conservatorium of Music in Hobart
as Lecturer in Orchestral and Chamber Music