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Keith Clark is an American composer, conductor, and music educator who is best known for founding the
Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...
and the
Astoria Music Festival Astoria may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Astoria, ex-wife of Muppet character Waldorf * Astoria Greengrass, a ''Harry Potter'' character * Astoria Rapunzel, in Italian animated series ''Regal Academy'' * Ast ...
. Active globally as a conductor, he has an extensive discography with symphonies internationally, including the
London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...
,
Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, P ...
, Slovak State Philharmonic,
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu'', Czech acronym SOČR, English acronym PRSO) is a Czech broadcast orchestra based in Prague, the Czech Republic. The SOČR performs concerts at the Dvořák Hall of ...
,
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...
, and Pacific Symphony among others. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the
Siberian Chamber Orchestra Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states sin ...
in Omsk, Russia, Principal Conductor of the Amadeus Opera Ensemble in Salzburg, Artistic Director of Portland Summerfest's Opera in the Park, and Artistic Director of the Astoria Music Festival.


Early life, family, and education

Born in Illinois, Clark grew up in
Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...
in a century-old farmhouse just southwest of Chicago. Clark's father, also named Keith, was a high school teacher and folk singer and instrumentalist who travelled around the midwest collecting folk songs, much in the way that Bartok and Kodaly had done earlier. His father was a close friend of
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
, whom he met in New York City while making recordings for
Folkway Records Folkways can refer to: *Folkways or mores, in sociology, are norms for routine or casual interaction *Folkways Records, a record label founded by Moe Asch of the Smithsonian Institution in 1948 **Verve Folkways, an offshoot of Folkways Records fo ...
. They later attended classes at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
together, including a class taught by the poet
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...
, played on the same softball team, and spent time together with the author
Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...
. His father sometimes played as a member in Seeger's band. Clark's father turned the family's large barn into a theater that seated several hundred people for public performances. The theater became a popular stopping place for many of the great American folk musicians in the 1950s and 1960s, including Seeger, during the
American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie ...
, and was also used as a venue for artists who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy era or to non-white entertainers who were discriminated from performing prior to the
Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several civil right acts in the United States. These acts of the United States Congress are meant to protect rights to ensure individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private ...
. He displayed an early talent for composing music, and published his first piece at the age of 18. At the age of 19 he became
Roger Wagner Roger Wagner, KCSG (January 16, 1914 – September 17, 1992) was an American choral musician, administrator and educator. In 1946 he founded the Roger Wagner Chorale, which became one of America's premier vocal ensembles. He also founded the ...
's assistant, serving as accompanist to the
Roger Wagner Chorale The Roger Wagner Chorale is an American choir founded by choral musician and educator Roger Wagner in 1946. History In 1937, Roger Wagner joined the MGM chorus in Hollywood and was subsequently appointed Music Director of St. Joseph's Churc ...
while an undergraduate student at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. During this time he lived with composer
Roy Harris Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American composer. He wrote music on American subjects, and is best known for his Symphony No. 3. Life Harris was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898. His ancestry ...
from whom he rented a room. While working with Wagner, Clark had the opportunity to work with
Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...
. Mehta convinced Clark to take a year studying music in Europe, and then come back to UCLA and study with him. Taking his advice and utilizing Mehta's connections, he studied music composition and conducting with
Franco Ferrara Franco Ferrara (Palermo, 4 July 1911Florence, 7 September 1985) was an Italian conductor and teacher. Among his many students are various prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti. Life a ...
in Siena and
Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil ...
in Vienna. He then decided to remain in Europe to complete his undergraduate studies in music composition and conducting at the
Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...
where he earned diplomas in both subjects and was awarded the schools' Conducting Prize. He later pursued graduate studies at the Vienna Music Academy (now the
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...
) as a
Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...
, and returned to
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
where he earned his Doctorate in music theory.


Career

Clark began his career in the 1960s in Europe, working chiefly out of Austria, but also serving as guest conductor with symphonies throughout Europe, including the London Philharmonic. He was particularly active in Vienna during the 1970s; having several of his own operas performed at the
Vienna Festival The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) is a culture festival that takes place in Vienna for five or six weeks in May and June every year. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the Participants in World W ...
during that decade, serving as Assistant Conductor of the World Youth Orchestra in Vienna under
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
, and working as Principal Guest Conductor of the
Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, P ...
. With that orchestra he conducted numerous concerts, made several radio and television broadcasts in Vienna and abroad for BBC, and made several recordings. In 1978, Clark became director of orchestras and opera conductor at
California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...
in
Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...
. There he established the Pacific Chamber Orchestra, the precursor to the
Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...
, as a part-student, part-professional, part-community ensemble during his first year of teaching Under his leadership, the orchestra soon became a fully professional orchestra with a subscription season and a subscriber base of more than three thousand people. In 1988 he resigned from his post, after being forced out by the orchestra's board of directors. In 2003 Clark co-founded the
Astoria Music Festival Astoria may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Astoria, ex-wife of Muppet character Waldorf * Astoria Greengrass, a ''Harry Potter'' character * Astoria Rapunzel, in Italian animated series ''Regal Academy'' * Ast ...
in
Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...
with soprano
Ruth Dobson Ruth Violet Lissant Dobson (5 October 191814 December 1989) was an Australian public servant and diplomat. Life and career Ruth Dobson was born in Neutral Bay, NSW on 5 October 1918. Her younger sister was the poet Rosemary Dobson. Dobson wa ...
, and has served as the Artistic Director of the festival from 2003 until the present. In 2006 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the
Siberian State Philharmonic Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive region, geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor st ...
and was appointed Artistic Director of the Novosibirsk Globus Theatre where he notably staged the Russian premiere of Bernstein's ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'' in 2007. He later conducted the Moscow premiere of the musical in 2010. Clark has also worked as a guest conductor with many orchestras and ensembles during his career, including the
Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...
. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the
Siberian Chamber Orchestra Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states sin ...
in Omsk, Russia, Principal Conductor of the Amadeus Opera Ensemble in Salzburg, Artistic Director of Portland Summerfest's Opera in the Park, and Artistic Director of the Astoria Music Festival.


Discography


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Keith Living people Accademia Musicale Chigiana alumni American conductors (music) California State University, Fullerton faculty People from Ottawa, Illinois University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Year of birth missing (living people)