Dale Clevenger (July 2, 1940 – January 5, 2022) was an American musician who was the Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1966 until his retirement[1] in June, 2013.
[2] Clevenger's father was President of the Chattanooga Opera Association, and he was exposed to live orchestral music at an early age.
[6][7] Clevenger considered Arnold Jacobs and Adolph Herseth, former principal brass instrumentalists of the CSO, to be his mentors.
[9] He expanded his conducting career with numerous orchestras in North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, recently leading the Orquestra Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon with Daniel Barenboim as soloist.
[10] Dale Clevenger was President of the Italian Brass Week and taught at Roosevelt University during his time in Chicago.
[12][13] Over the years, critics have written of his playing as being "satin smooth (1975),"[14] as having "mellow radiance and gentle flow...despite a few inconsequential fluffs (1978),"[15] and of his "pianissimo trills and daredevil octaves (1981).