Bill Kalinkos, clarinetist, has been called "a powerhouse" (San Francisco Chronicle), "a superb performer" (San Jose Mercury News), and his playing has been lauded as "ethereal, yet grounded" (Oakland Tribune). His performance of Aaron Copland's Concerto was praised in the Oakland Tribune: "Kalinkos played casually, with the mysterious ease one hears in an accomplished musician.”

Bill enjoys a varied career as a member of critically-acclaimed groups such as Alarm Will Sound and Splinter Reeds. Recognized by the Washington Post as a “notable contemporary music specialist,” he has been fortunate enough to premiere pieces by many renowned composers and has been featured on the New York Philharmonic’s “Nightcap” series performing Yann Robin’s “Art of Metal II” for solo contrabass clarinet and electronics. As an orchestral player, Bill is co-principal clarinetist of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, former principal clarinetist of the Oakland Symphony, and he has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony. He attended the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music prior to earning his doctorate degree at Stony Brook University. Bill serves on the faculty of the University of Missouri School of Music and previously taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz and Berkeley. As a recording artist, he can be heard on the Cantaloupe, Nonesuch, Euroarts, Naxos, Mode, Orange Mountain, Albany Records, Deutsche Gramophon, New Focus, and Harmonia Mundi labels.