Dr. Kip Franklin
Class of 2004
Career Pathway:
Dr. Kip Franklin was nominated by Dennis Ormsbee, his band director at Grayling High School.
At GHS, Kip took advantage of the many opportunities afforded to him through the Grayling Viking Band program as well as the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association. He was twice nominated as outstanding state soloist and was principal clarinetist of several district and collegiate honor bands, including the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Symphony Orchestra. He was drum major for the Viking Marching Band from 2001 to 2004, a member of the National Honor Society and valedictorian of his class.
He earned bachelor degrees in music-clarinet performance and music theory/composition from Central Michigan University in 2009, master degrees in music-clarinet performance and music theory pedagogy at Michigan State University in 2011 and a doctor of musical arts-clarinet performance degree at MSU in 2014. His dissertation topic was "David Maslanka's Eternal Garden, Four Songs for Clarinet and Piano: An Analysis and Performance Guide."
From 2007 to 2015, he was a clarinet instructor for two public schools, the MSU Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, the CMU Summer Music Camp and the CMU Community Music School. He was a teaching assistant in music theory at MSU (2012-2013) and an adjunct professor of clarinet at Saginaw Valley State University (2012-2015).
He has performed at summer festivals in Vianden, Luxembourg; Stony Brook, New York and East Lansing, Michigan, and has studied abroad in Annesy, France, and Todi, Italy.
Since 2015, Dr. Franklin has taught at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He was promoted to associate professor of clarinet as of June 2022.
He has an extensive list of solo, chamber and orchestral performances throughout the United States and in Belgium and Italy as well as impressive lists of presentations, publications, master classes/clinics, adjudications and commissioned works. He also has received several academic, performance and teaching awards.
Dr. Franklin has guided undergraduates in their student research, has a list of several student successes, has created multiple educational podcasts and has recordings and other materials available upon request.
"It is an honor to nominate Kip Franklin," said Mr. Ormsbee. "He has always been a credit to himself, his parents and whatever community that he is involved in. Kip was a student that strove to improve his art as a clarinetist. I have talked with students that he instructed at SVSU, and, without an exception, they were always complimentary! Congratulations to him on his accomplishments."
