Richard Auldon Clark, director of the Butler Symphony
Orchestra, Professor of violin and viola
Butler Symphony Orchestra
conductor Richard Auldon Clark is one of the youngest conductors
ever to appear on the stage of Carnegie Hall. A fervent proponent
of American music, Mr. Clark has conducted more than 100 world
premiere performances and has 30 CD recordings in his rapidly
expanding discography. He has committed the Manhattan Chamber
Orchestra to premiering and recording the music of young composers,
as well as that of more established artists whose works have been
overlooked or forgotten. Recent guest conducting appearances
include: the Long Island Philharmonic, Broadway's Annie Get
Your Gun, Long-Island Opera, Mercyhurst Opera Company, Mexico
City, Jalapa (Mexico) and "Broadway on Broadway." In addition to
his conducting, Mr. Clark is an active recitalist and chamber
musician. Originally from Apalachin, New York, Mr. Clark studied
violin and viola in New York City with Raphael Bronstein, Ariana
Bronne and Lillian Fuchs. Mr. Clark is on the faculty of Rutgers
University's Mason Gross School of the Arts and the Manhattan
School of Music, where he received both his bachelor's and master's
degrees.
Mr. Clark founded the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra in 1987, and
continues to serve as its director and conductor. Hailed by the
media as an "extraordinary ensemble of virtuosos," and credited
with providing the "definitive versions of forgotten American
masterpieces," the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra has been dedicated
to innovative, exciting and multi-cultural programming. The MCO has
premiered and recorded the music of such diverse composers as
William Grant Still, Alec Wilder, Victor Herbert, Henry Cowell,
Alan Hovhaness, Otto Luening, Dominick Argento, Randall Thompson,
Eric Ewazen, David Amram and Dave Soldier. The MCO performs music
of all genres with a special emphasis on contemporary American
music. The MCO has toured for Allied Concert Services, Community
Concerts and World Touring Productions, playing to audiences
throughout the United States and Asia. In New York City, the MCO
maintains a busy performing and recording schedule. The MCO
performs an average of eight concerts per season in New York City,
presenting its "Mostly American" series at Merkin Concert Hall,
appearing regularly on the popular concert series at Trinity Church
on Wall Street and also producing an educational concert program
for elementary school children from the Harlem area in conjunction
with Riverbank State Park. Maestro Clark's ambitious recording plan
has the orchestra undertake an average of three new CD titles each
season.
The orchestra has also been featured at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln
Center, Symphony Space, Weill Recital Hall and the United Nations.
In 1995, the orchestra received the NAIRD "Indie" award for Best
Classical Album for its CD "Mountains and Rivers Without End," and
was awarded the Lincoln Center Arts Project Award and performed at
Alice Tully Hall. The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra's 30 CD
recordings are released on the Newport Classic, KOCH International,
AVANT, VOX, Helicon, KLEOS Classics and Mulatta Records labels.
Professor Clark's You Tube Videos:
(317) 940-8031
rclark@butler.edu