Major in Music (B.A.)

Students may audition for a variety of groups which rehearse regularly and perform several concerts every year.

Chamber Music Ensembles

Yelena Beriyeva, Distinguished Artist in Piano and Director of Chamber Ensembles

Hailed as “the paragon of the concert pianist” by the L.A. Examiner and “a standout performer” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer, Georgian-born American pianist Yelena Beriyeva continues to hold esteem as one of the finest artists of her generation.

Clark Concert Choir and Chamber Chorus

Cailin Marcel Manson, Associate Professor of Practice and Director of Music Performance

At Clark, Professor Manson directs and manages the Music Performance concentration for all music majors and minors, specifically guiding the private lesson instruction program, performance workshops, departmental juries, and capstone performance projects and recitals.

Professor Manson leads the Clark University Concert Choir and Chamber Chorus and oversees all other music performance ensembles in the Music Program. He also teaches or manages the performance-related curriculum, including courses in repertoire, conducting, diction, and performance preparation.

Professor Manson joined the music faculty at Clark in 2019.

Jazz Workshop

Jerry Sabatini, Director of Jazz Ensembles

Concert Band

Samantha McGill, Director

As an undergrad at WPI, Samantha McGill was an active student and music filled her calendar of extracurricular activities. She played flute and piccolo in the Concert Band, Symphony, and Pit Orchestras, and was the head drum major in the WPI Pep Band. Fortunately, her involvement with music has continued, long after graduation.

Sinfonia

Peter Sulski, Director

The Clark Sinfonia is a string ensemble focusing on repertoire of the Classical era and beyond. The group runs without a conductor, allowing the musicians greater freedom and responsibility. Director Peter Sulski was for many years a member of the London Symphony Orchestra and a player in the orchestra’s educational Discovery Program. Learn more

Participation in a Study Abroad and Away program is an opportunity to gain world and workplace experience to complement your on-campus work. Clark approves semester, yearlong, and summer opportunities to earn credit through academic coursework, internships, community-based learning, or research. Explore our Study Abroad and Away page, where you can search programs by academic interest, location, and language; after you’ve identified some appropriate programs, ensure they fit into your four-year plan by talking with your faculty adviser as early as possible.

You can participate in Clark’s many clubs, organizations, and athletic teams as a way to complement your academic work. Here are some student organizations that might be of interest to you as a music student:

• Clark Musical Theatre
• Counterpoints
• Clark Bars
• Dance Society
• Clark Music Society

Collaborate with faculty
Recent collaborative student-faculty research and creative work includes:

• The Etchings Festival for Contemporary Music: Each summer a music student interns in arts management with Professor John Aylward, founder and director of the Festival in Auvillar, France, and works with the international roster of performers and composers.
• Music Research Blog: Students from Professor Ben Korstvedt‘s Workshop in Music History and Criticism course work with him on a collaborative research blog focused on a wide spectrum of music and musical topics, including Haydn String Quartets, music and politics, and classical music as recorded art.
• Professional Recording: A former student, who is now a recording engineer at New England Conservatory, recorded Professor Matt Malsky‘s most recent compact disc at Mechanics Hall. A Clark music tech student was the assistant engineer.
• The Music program regularly arranges concerts, teaching sessions, readings of student works and residencies connected with coursework with outstanding music ensembles and performers. Recent guests include the Radius Ensemble, Keith Kirchoff, Sylvia Berry, the Mobius Guitar Trio and the Worcester Chamber Music Society.

Present your work

Clark’s annual ClarkFEST is an opportunity to share your research or creative work with the Clark community while you hone your presentation skills. Some projects music students and recent alumni have presented are:

• Recording an Album of Original Compositions in Worcester
• The Sublimity of Bon Iver’s “22, A Million.”
• Composing music for Clark University’s admissions information session video, “Moments“
• Composing and recording three scores to film clips as a capstone and LEEP project
• Beyond Swing, Beyond Standards: The Rise of Sublime Aesthetics in Modern Jazz

You also can submit your research results for publication in our student-run Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal.