Clare Semes serves as Associate Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Before moving to Canada in 2017, she was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Clare received her Bachelor and Masters of Music degrees from The Juilliard School where she studied with Donald Weilerstein, Ronald Copes, and Laurie Smukler.
In addition to serving as a concertmaster of the New World Symphony, she has served as concertmaster of The Juilliard Orchestra and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, and continues to perform as a member of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland.
She has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras in the United States and Asia, one highlight being an all-featured program with the Shanghai Philharmonic alongside her three sisters (all of whom are professional musicians).
At the onset of the pandemic, she formed the flute and violin duo, Sonority Sisters, with TSO Principal Flute, Kelly Zimba Lukić. The duo’s self-organized community performances and outreach in the city of Toronto has garnered significant press, including coverage from the Toronto Star, Global News, Breakfast Television, CBC Toronto, CityNews Toronto, CTV Your Morning, and BlogTO.
In her spare time, Clare enjoys long distance running and spending time with her labradoodle, Theo, and husband Jeffrey Beecher (TSO Principal Bass).