From left: Jesse McCandless and Ryan Little.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has announced that Jesse McCandless has joined the orchestra as principal clarinet, and Ryan Little has joined as principal horn. In addition, Isabel Kwon and Nathan Mo have joined the cello section.
Jesse McCandless has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and the Florida Orchestra. At the New World Symphony, he worked with conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Stéphane Denève, Peter Oundjian, and John Williams. McCandless has collaborated with the Amernet String Quartet and Eighth Blackbird, and attended the Aspen Music Festival, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Kent-Blossom Chamber Music Festival. McCandless received his bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and his master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, where he studied with Richard Hawkins and David Shifrin. Other influences include Michael Rusinek of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Michael Wayne of the Eastman School of Music.
Ryan Little served as principal horn of Florida’s Naples Philharmonic for six years, and is principal horn at the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. He has performed as guest principal horn with the orchestras of Cincinnati, Frankfurt, Minnesota, Orlando, Sarasota, Vancouver, and WDR Cologne, and has also performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, New World Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony. As a concert soloist, he appeared with the Naples Philharmonic, Northwestern University Baroque and Symphonic Wind Ensembles, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, and the Skokie Valley Symphony. Little has performed at several summer music festivals and has been a fellow at festivals and institutes. He received a B.M. from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and an M.M. from Rice University Shepherd School of Music.
