Tyler Bourque is a freelance musician and has served as principal clarinet of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra since August 2019. He has performed with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and New World Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Tyler has achieved success at Lyrica Baroque’s New Orleans Chamber Festival and participated in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s “What I Hear” series during the 2021–2022 season, performing with a woodwind quintet. In 2021, he appeared as a soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Raised in southern Louisiana, Tyler is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Music, where he studied with Deborah Chodacki. He later completed postgraduate work at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with William R. Hudgins of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and collaborating closely with other members of the wind section. In addition to his musical training, Tyler has completed a substantial portion of coursework toward a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Tyler received training through the orchestra libraries of both the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra before serving as Head Music Librarian of the Music Academy of the West in 2023.

Outside of music, Tyler teaches middle school English in the public school system. He enjoys exploring global cuisines, cooking, listening to music, feeling overwhelmed by the number of books he’s committed to reading, and spending quality time with his dog, Sadie.