Combs named to WV Music Hall of Fame

"When you can say, and not really be lying, that you wake up every morning really eager to go to work and eager to play every concert, then you can be a very happy person, " said Combs who attended the induction ceremony at the Culture Center last month.

Combs says he took to the clarinet from an early age. He credits A.E. Raspillaire, his bandleader in South Charleston, for encouragement and direction.

As a teenager Combs was playing for the Charleston Symphony and went on to attend the Eastman School of Music in New York.

After graduating Eastman, he played with the New Orleans Symphony, the West Point Band, and the Montreal Symphony.  

"As much as I love playing jazz or playing chamber music, I think it’s the orchestral playing that identifies me."

Combs made his musical mark as the principal clarinetist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, starting with renowned conductor Georg Solti:

"Solti was almost a father figure," said Combs.

"He was extremely demanding, but there was a certain humanity to his work that shines through in the music, so I felt very fortunate of having all those years of working with him."

Combs says his time with the Chicago Symphony was extremely rewarding.

"It’s a feeling of a hundred people working together to achieve something special. And there’s not so many situations where you can experience that," said Combs.

Combs is now retired from the Chicago Symphony, but continues to tour as a soloist, teach advanced students at DePaul University, and play chamber music.