Susan Warner is Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. In addition to her position at the opera house, Susan is a member of the Lyric Ensemble, a chamber ensemble comprised of Lyric Orchestra colleagues, as well as a member of the Prairie Winds, a nationally touring wind quintet with an annual residency at Madeline Island Chamber Music. Also a member of the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra, Susan was recently featured as soloist in Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs. She has performed as substitute musician with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.
Susan has performed at the Tanglewood, Schleswig-Holstein, Heidelberg Castle, Grand Teton, Music Academy of the West, and Aspen festivals. In August 2019 as a member of the Chicago Winds Quintet, Susan, along with her husband CSO hornist David Griffin, toured throughout China where Susan’s growing fluency in Mandarin allowed her to deliver spoken introductions during concerts.
Additionally, Susan has appeared on Rush Hour Concerts, Live from WFMT, WFMT broadcast with the Ryan Opera Center of Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Oak Park Schubert Festival, MusicNOW Contemporary Chamber Music Series, and the Ravinia Chamber Music Series. As a teacher Susan has coached chamber music at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, as well as taught clarinet at the Sun Valley Music Festival Summer Music Institute, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, the Britt Music Festival, Concordia University Chicago, and Ithaca College School of Music.
During the pandemic, Susan and her musical family presented nightly performances from their porch, as well as a July 4, 2020 band concert on their front lawn with musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago — the video of which received over 5.6 million views on social media.
