The British composer Nigel Clarke grew up in the seaside town of Margate, UK and though not from a musical background, he developed a lifelong love of music at an early age while learning a brass instrument at school. Aged 16 he joined the Royal Marines as a junior military bandsman and went on to serve in the Band of the Royal Army Medical Corps and ultimately the Band of the Irish Guards. His desire to write music was encouraged at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall. This led to him studying composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London with Paul Patterson.
In 1997 the U.S. Ambassador to the UK (William J. Crowe, Jr.) invited Clarke to join the U.S. Embassy’s flagship exchange programme, ‘The United States International Visitor Leadership Program’ and as its alumnus, he is a member of the John Adams Society.
During his professional career Clarke has held posts as Composition and Contemporary Music Tutor at the Royal Academy of Music and Head of Composition at the London College of Music & Media. His many national and international residencies and associations include positions with the Young Concert Artist Trust, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, The Black Dyke Band, Brassband Buizingen, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Middle Tennessee State University, and Brussels Muzieque. Clarke’s longest musical collaboration has been with violinist Peter Sheppard-Skærved.
Nigel receiving the `Queen’s Commendation for Excellence’ at the Royal Academy of Music in 1986 from Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
