Born  in Brooklyn, New York, Sidney Forrest (1918-2013) spent the bulk of his career in Washington, DC and Baltimore.  As a teenager in Brooklyn,  he sought out Simeon Bellison (principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic) for private lessons and enjoyed being a member of Bellison's Clarinet Ensemble.  He continued his studies at the Juilliard School and maintained his close relationship with his teacher until  Bellison's death in 1953.  After two years at Juilliard,  he went to the recently established school of music at the University of Miami on full scholarship, where he earned his undergraduate degree..  He was principal clarinet there, under the esteemed Russian conductor Arnold Volpe.  He received a master's degree from Columbia University.  Other influential teachers and mentors were Alexander Williams (first clarinet of the NBC Orchestra under Toscanini)  and Otto Conrad (former principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic).

In 1941, Sidney Forrest came to Washington, DC as a member of the United States Marine Band and Orchestra, frequently appearing as soloist.  In 1946 he became principal clarinet of the National Symphony Orchestra and joined the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory (Johns Hopkins University) in Baltimore.  He taught at Peabody for 40 years and also served as adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America and American University.  Summers 1959- 2005, he taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, teaching hundreds of students and coaching the clarinet section of the World Youth Symphony.  He gave "Master Teacher" classes at the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.  and continued to teach privately at his home in Kensington, Maryland until a short time before his death in September 2013.