Richard Auldon Clark

Richard Auldon Clark is an American conductor and violist, founder and artistic director of The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, director of Instrumental Activities at Butler University's Jordan College of Fine Arts, as well as an artistic director/conductor of The Butler Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Apalachin, NY, Clark studied violin and viola in New York City with Raphael Bronstein, Arianne Bronne and Lillian Fuchs, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees from the Manhattan School Of Music.

Throughout his career, Richard Clark conducted more than 100 world premieres, and recorded over 40 albums. A fervent proponent of American contemporary music, Richard Auldon Clark included works by Randall Thompson, Victor Herbert, Henry Cowell, Alan Hovhaness, Lukas Foss, David Amram, and Osvaldo Lacerda in his repertoire. Some of his recent appearances include Utah Symphony Orchestra, The Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Long Island Philharmonic, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional De México.

In 1987, Richard Auldon Clark founded The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. He also co-founded the annual Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival (FLCMF) in 2001, and serves as music director. Before joining the faculty at Butler University, Clark had been teaching at Manhattan School Of Music's Mason Gross School of the Arts and the Manhattan School of Music.

As a composer, Clark has written and recorded numerous chamber works, and also collaborated with his friend, Kurt Vonnegut, in the creation of several works based on his novels. Together they started working on the opera Happy Birthday, Wanda June – a dark comedy influenced by Vietnam War, and based on Vonnegut's first play, which was performed on Broadway and premiered as film in 1971. A first operatic attempt both for Vonnegut and Clark, this project had been developing painstakingly slow, and came to a halt when the author died in 2007. Eventually, Richard Clark finished Wanda June, and Kurt Vonnegut's first opera was premiered posthumously in September 2016.