Julian Bliss is one of the world’s leading clarinettists, performing internationally as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and jazz artist. Renowned for his exceptional musicianship and versatility, he has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras and at major concert halls and festivals across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australasia.
Bliss began playing the clarinet at the age of four and later studied in the United States at Indiana University before continuing his studies in Germany with the celebrated clarinettist Sabine Meyer.
As a concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras including the Auckland Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Bliss has appeared at leading international festivals and venues including the Verbier Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Wigmore Hall in London and Lincoln Center in New York.
His discography includes an album of music by Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann, and the sonatas of Johannes Brahms, both with pianist James Baillieu; the clarinet quintets of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Carl Maria von Weber with the Carducci Quartet. His most recent recording of clarinet concertos by Magnus Lindberg and Kalevi Aho with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Taavi Oramo and released on Signum Records, received widespread critical acclaim and won the 2026 BBC Music Magazine Concerto Award. The Guardian praised Bliss’s playing as “absolutely immaculate… the most extreme technical demands hold no terrors for him”.
Alongside his performing career, Bliss is deeply committed to education, giving masterclasses and working regularly with young musicians worldwide.
Julian Bliss is a performing artist for Buffet Crampon and Vandoren.