YouTube is probably the best way to know what a lesson is like with me: irreverent, funny, brutally honest, and probably a little goofy.

Michael Lowenstern, widely considered one of the finest bass clarinetists in the world, has performed, recorded and toured as a soloist and with ensembles of every variety.

Lowenstern has written music for concert, film, dance and various other new media over the span of his 25-year career. His collaborations have included remixes for the landmark recording “In C Remixed,” featured on NPR’s RadioLab, Michael Gordon’s video opera “Chaos” and various dance works with David Lang. And he has performed with ensembles as diverse as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Steve Reich Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Klezmatics. To date he can be heard on over fifty CDs, including six solo recordings of his own.

He trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy, The Eastman School of Music, Stony Brook University and the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam, studying clarinet and bass clarinet with Charles Neidich, Harry Sparnaay, Richard MacDowell and John Bruce Yeh.

Not satisfied with the status-quo in music education, Michael’s (irreverent and somewhat controversial) educational YouTube series “So You Want to be a Bass Clarinet Player” has become a source of information and edutainment for millions of viewers across the globe. And when he’s not teaching via the internet, he’s traveling regularly as a guest lecturer at universities across the world. When he’s stuck in New York, Michael serves on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School.

And when he’s not doing all that, he’s hanging out in Brooklyn with his family.