Eugene Lai

Clarinetist | Composer | Researcher

Eugene Lai, 賴宥峻, is a clarinetist and composer from Taipei, Taiwan. His work spans performance collaborations, composition, and academic research.

Eugene performs as a guest clarinetist with orchestras including Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, and with ensembles across Asia and Europe. He has performed under the baton of Eliahu Inbal, Rico Saccani, Ion Marin, and so on. He plays clarinets from piccolo to contrabass, contributing to theater productions, film scores, and especially projects incorporating world music elements. He has presented at the European Clarinet Congress, and Sound of Music Festival in The Netherlands. In 2024, he was selected as a fellow artist and educator for the OneBeat residency in Taiwan.

During his studies in Taiwan, Eugene instructed Chih-Ning Kao, Eugenia Jin, Pei-Yun Lin, and Ji-Hsi Chang. He won numerous first prizes in the National Student Music Competition in both clarinet solo and wind quintet categories, soloist laureates, and received awards including the Hsing-Tian-Kong Award.

Currently, Eugene is pursuing his Master’s degree at the Prins Claus Conservatorium Groningen, studying bass clarinet with Fie Schouten, focusing on low clarinets and contemporary music. He also attends masterclasses/lessons with clarinetists including Harry Sparnaay, Norbert Kaiser, Joan Enric Lluna, Sylvie Hue, Hans Colbers, Didier Delettre, Sauro Berti, Florent Héau, Bernhard Röthlisberger, Yehuda Gilad, Francisco José Fernández, Mate Bekavac, Céleste Zewald, Joost van Rheeden, Davide Lattuada, Arno Piters, Kilian Herold, Olivier Patey, Lorenzo Iosco, Ausiàs Garrigós, etc.

Eugene performs solo recitals and plays with Quintette les jeux d’anches, working to expand the modern clarinet and reed quintet repertoire.