Clare Armenante is a sought after violinist, fiddler, and teacher whose curiosity for music and its diverse styles and traditions has given her the versatility, knowledge and experience to perform in numerous genres including musical theater, circus, bluegrass, hip-hop, classical, pop, tango and jazz.
Most recently Clare could be found on the road as the solo violinist for the First National Tour of the Tony Award-Winning Best Musical, Hadestown 2022-2024, and she frequently subs at the show on Broadway. Clare has also subbed for month-long residencies with the national tours of “Oklahoma! (2019),” the 50th Anniversary of “Jesus Christ Superstar”, and Sting’s “The Last Ship.”
In the last 7 years, Clare also built a name for herself in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. She performed, recorded, and toured with the bluegrass band, The High Water Line, making the finals in both the Telluride and Rockygrass Festival band competitions in 2022. She also played with old-time country and western swing band, The Vivants; hip-hop chamber orchestra, Ensemble Mik Nawooj; and performed frequently as a substitute violinist in Opera San Jose. Clare has worked in circus arts and toured with the clown theater piece, “Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto” in 2019 which received rave reviews at the Vault Fringe Festival in London. In 2021, she also collaborated with members of Circus Center as music director of “Circus Pop Ups,” a free outdoor performance series pairing circus artists with musicians to bring uplifting performances to the public and schools during the pandemic.
Clare has a BM in Violin Performance from Vanderbilt University, and a MM in Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory.
As a teacher, Clare aims to give her students the best musical tools and violin technique that she can, so they are able to play any style of music that they want. She hopes her students gain an appreciation for all different types of music, and have fun at the same time.
Favorite Suzuki pieces: The Happy Farmer, The Two Grenadiers, Seitz 2
Favorite fiddle tunes: Gardenia Waltz, M.I.S.I.P, On the Sunny Side of the
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