Carey Bell, a native of Eugene, Oregon has served as principal clarinet of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra since the 1998-99 season. Prior to joining the SSO, Mr. Bell played in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He received the Bachelor of Music degree in both clarinet performance and composition from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1997. His clarinet teachers include Fred Ormand and Larry Combs and he has studied composition with William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty and Bright Sheng, among others.

Mr. Bell has participated in summer festivals at Skaneateles, Tanglewood and the Music Academy of the West and was a semifinalist at the International Carl Nielsen Clarinet Competition in Odense, Denmark in 1997.