Clarinetist Amitai Vardi, an avid soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician, has been Professor of Clarinet at Kent State University since 2012. Vardi made his solo debut at the age of sixteen with the Madison Symphony Orchestra as the first-place winner of the Steenbock Young Artist Competition. He has since won several concerto competitions, including the Round Top International Festival Competition, The Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition, and the Agnes Fowler Competition. In addition, Vardi has been a featured soloist with the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, Trinity Cathedral Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and also performed the North American premiere of Srul Glick's concerto, The Klezmer's Wedding, with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

As an orchestral player, Vardi served as principal clarinetist of Red {an orchestra}, Opera Cleveland, and Lyric Opera Cleveland. He currently holds positions with The Erie Philharmonic, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. Vardi has performed with many orchestras, including the American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and most notably The Cleveland Orchestra, for which he has performed well over one hundred and fifty concerts, including several tours in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Miami. Vardi also substituted on bass clarinet for most of the 2014-2015 season.

His enthusiasm for chamber music has led to performances across the Unit-ed States, South America, Europe, and Israel. He is featured on several chamber music CDs, including Soulmates, a 2017 recording with his father, cellist Uri Vardi, on the Delos Label. Vardi is also a founding member of the Black Squirrel Winds, Kent State University’s faculty woodwind quintet.

Vardi received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Eli Eban, and his Master of Music degree at The Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Franklin Cohen. He later pursued his post-graduate studies with Yehuda Gilad in Los Angeles. He has taught at the University of Akron, and in addition to his current position at Kent State University, he teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Department. During the summers, Vardi has been on the faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, the Kent Blossom Music Festival in Ohio, and the Round Top Festival in Texas.