Since attending NRO in 2011, Miles Jaques was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach from 2013-2016. The first time he even auditioned for NWS was during his summer in Breckenridge! After his time in Miami, he was asked to play with the Toronto Symphony for one season as acting associate principal/bass/Eb clarinet by Music Director, Peter Oundjia, who he played under for the first time at NRO. There were two openings in the TSO in the four member clarinet section (bass and associate principal) so he took the audition, and won the bass clarinet/utility job in March of 2017. Miles has performed multiple times with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has appeared regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Chamber Soloists over the course of the last two years as well. Since the summer of 2016, he has been a regular guest of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra as their bass clarinetist and, along with his colleagues from the Santa Fe Opera, he will be featured at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in 2018.
Miles shares, “I am forever grateful for my time in NRO. When I look back, I unequivocally consider the time I spent in Breck as a turning point in my growth as a musician and certainly my professional career. The schedule at NRO is much like the ones of professional organizations; limited rehearsals mixed with challenging programs. This was my first real glimpse at what my life could potentially be as a professional and it was at that point that I knew I had made the right choice in career path. Additionally, the clarinet section that I was a part of at NRO was by far the best I had ever played in and my interactions with them as colleagues was extremely invaluable, something I still think back on. Aside from the incredible musical opportunities provided by NRO, I immediately formed a very close bond with my “host parents” from that summer. Since 2011, Murray and Marlene Altman have become very close friends of my husband and me and have virtually been adopted by our families. We speak with them often; they even attended our wedding as our special guests!”