Kevin Clarke Biography
Kevin M. Clarke was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. After several years of self taught playing Mr. Clarke studied with George Kent and Steven Martorella. He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from Rhode Island College and his Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston where he studied with the late Frank Taylor and Yuko Hayashi. During that time he was organist and choirmaster of St. Peter’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Providence. At present, he is coaching with Jesse Eschbach in French organ technique and style as well as improvisation with Dr. George Baker.
Upon graduation in 1984, he served as organist and choirmaster at St. John’s Anglican Church, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, leaving that post in 1986 to be Fellow in Church Music at the Washington National Cathedral. Following this, Mr. Clarke traveled to Bristol Cathedral, England, to serve as the Cathedral organ scholar. Returning to the United States in 1988, he was Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at St. John the Divine in Houston, Texas, until his appointment to Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas in 1990.
In his recent position as organist and choirmaster at Church of the Incarnation, one of the largest Episcopal churches in the United States, Dr. Clarke has built an extensive music program. He also travels several times a month to Houston where he is building a boy/girl choir program on the English model at St. Nicholas school. The choirs have sung in residence at the cathedrals of Chichester, Wells, and Lincoln, and have three times been invited to sing the daily services in residence at Westminster Abbey. In addition, Dr. Clarke has composed several commissioned choral pieces, brass arrangements, and video soundtracks, and has produced and played in numerous concerts. In May of 2002 the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest awarded him the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. As a recitalist, he has performed in North America, the Caribbean, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany, where he played the world premiere of Hans-Dieter Karras’ 2nd Symphony. He has represented the United States in several international festivals including the Cervantino Festival International and the Morelia International Organ Festival.
In addition to organ concerts, Dr. Clarke is in demand as a conductor and lecturer on choral technique, recently completing a conducting tour in North Germany. Mr. Clarke’s most recent recordings feature music of the English Cathedral tradition sung by the Incarnation Chancel Choir on the Pro Organo label, and an organ CD entitled “Trumpet Tunes” on the Prospect label and is on the Albany label. His newest release on the Pro Organo label is a recording of French organ music.
In July of 2008 he accepted the position of Organist Choirmaster at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Greenville, South Carolina. At St. Mary’s he plans to build a model liturgical music program for the Roman liturgy, building on his predecessor’s work and incorporating the best of the English liturgical music repertoire with the best of the Latin Rite tradition.