Christopher Dechant

United States

selected candidate

2026 CHENGDU INTERNATIONAL CLARINET COMPETITION

school affiliation

The Juilliard School

Chris Dechant is a professional clarinetist who is studying for a Bachelor of Music degree at The Juilliard School and is expected to graduate in May 2027, under the instruction of Jon Manasse. He has accumulated extensive performance experience since 2023, taking all positions in The Juilliard Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Opera and Wind Orchestra. He has participated in top-tier music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and Colorado College Summer Music Festival in 2024 and 2025, and joined the New York String Orchestra Seminar in December 2024. Meanwhile, he has worked as a substitute musician for the Fort Worth Symphony and the New World Symphony, proficient in performing clarinet, Eb clarinet and bass clarinet.

Chris Dechant has achieved outstanding results in multiple authoritative competitions and gained wide recognition in the clarinet field. He won the Grand Prize of the Silverstein International Clarinet Competition in July 2025 and entered the quarterfinals of the Jacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition in Rouen, France in June 2025. He was the grand prize winner of the Thomas C. Clark Concerto Competition in 2024 and acted as the soloist of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. Besides, he became a winner of the YoungArts Foundation in 2023 and has been on the clarinet sub-list of Symphony in C in Collingswood NJ since 2024.