Clarinetist/Bass Clarinetist John Bruce Yeh was born in Washington D.C., the son of music-loving scientists. Raised in Los Angeles, California, he pursued pre-medical studies at UCLA, where he won the Frank Sinatra Musical Performance Award and performed as Principal Clarinet of the American Youth Symphony under Mehli Mehta. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in 1975 and also studied in Aspen, Marlboro, and Tanglewood.

Invited to join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as solo Bass Clarinetist in 1977 by Sir Georg Solti, he currently serves as Assistant Principal and solo E-flat Clarinetist. Director of Chicago Pro Musica, he received the Grammy Award as Best New Classical Artist in 1986. John has performed concertos by Stravinsky, Nielsen, and Carter with the Chicago Symphony and as a soloist with other orchestras in such diverse locations as Taipei's National Concert Hall and the Great Philharmonic Hall in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His solo, chamber music recordings and performances continue to earn worldwide critical acclaim. His solo recordings include a release by Cedille Records featuring the music of composer/pianist Easley Blackwood and Max Reger. Blackwood wrote two works for Yeh: The Sonata for Clarinet in A and the Sonatina in F for Piccolo Clarinet. Another recording, Ebony Concerto, was released by Reference Recordings in 1993. It features music by Stravinsky, Bernstein, Morton Gould, Victor Babin, and Artie Shaw. From Koch International Classics comes a release titled "Dialogues With My Shadow."

Mr. Yeh performs music for clarinet and computer by Boulez, Martino, Robert Carl, Rami Levin, and Howard Sandroff. In April of 1998, he performed the American Premiere of the Elliott Carter Clarinet Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Pierre Boulez.

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