Sérgio Coelho’s playing has been praised as being “superb, to say the least, showcasing the heights of clarinet proficiency and taking the clarinet to its limits”. Chad Lonski from the “Daily Trojan Newspaper” (Los Angeles, CA) about Sérgio’s performance of the Mozart clarinet concerto.
Sérgio is the principal clarinet of the prestigious American Youth Symphony. A native of Portugal, Sérgio started learning clarinet and piano at the age of 9 at the Academia da Sociedade Filarmónica Vizelense. During his time in Portugal, Sérgio maintained an active performance career, performing with multiple orchestras, chamber music groups and solo. Sérgio graduated with a bachelor degree in clarinet and orchestra performance by the Metropolitan National Academy of Orchestra, Portugal, where he studied with Mr. Nuno Silva. In this school Sérgio was the winner of the concerto competition which lead him to perform the Mozart Clarinet Concerto on tour with both the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and the Metropolitan Academic Orchestra.
Sérgio moved to Los Angeles in 2014 to attend the University of Southern California where he completed a Graduate Certificate and a Master of Music Degree in clarinet performance, both under the tutelage of renowned pedagogue Mr. Yehuda Gilad. During his Masters of Music degree he became a fellow of the Latin Grammy Awards Foundation after being selected for a scholarship from this institution. He can be found performing regularly with other orchestras, such as, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, Downey Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Sinfonietta. Currently, he is pursuing a prestigious Artist Diploma Degree at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of Mr. Yehuda Gilad.