Diane Clark is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and received her primary and secondary education in the Memphis City Schools. She holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, the Master of Music degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, and the Doctor of Arts degree in music from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. She is now Associate Professor Emerita of Music at Rhodes College, where she taught for 32 years. Prior to that she taught for 3 years at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Upon retirement from full-time university teaching in 2006, she moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where she is an adjunct voice faculty member in the Music Department at Northwestern Michigan College and has also been an adjunct voice faculty member in the Theatre Arts Department at Interlochen Arts Academy. In addition, she maintains a small private voice studio in her home.
Clark taught university music classes in applied voice, class voice, choral ensembles, music theory, music literature, music & wellness, and women in music. She taught classes in public speaking for 15 years and also coached attorneys on the Rhodes national champion mock trial teams. She served 10 years on the faculty for the interdepartmental humanities course "The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion." In addition to her college teaching, she coached singers and actors in various community theaters in Memphis. She also presented workshops on speaking skills for businesses and organizations throughout the Memphis area.
As a vocal performer, Clark has appeared in recital, opera, oratorio & sacred music, music theatre, jazz, and barbershop venues. In 1985-86, she was Artist-in-Residence for the city of Germantown, TN. She performed with Opera Memphis, the Nashville Opera, the University of Mississippi Opera Theatre, and the Minnesota Opera Summer Institute. She appeared in musicals at the Mobile (Alabama) Theatre Guild, Rhodes College McCoy Theatre, and the Germantown Community Theatre. She was also a professional church musician for 36 years.
Clark was guest faculty for the Taos Opera Institute (New Mexico) in 2008 and 2009, and for the Up North Vocal Institute (Michigan) in 2011. In Traverse City, she has worked with the Old Town Playhouse, serving as Vocal Director for the October, 2013, production of Les Misérables, and as vocal and/or dialect coach for actors in thirteen additional plays:, including Steel Magnolias, Crimes of the Heart, Calendar Girls, Dirty Blonde, The Savannah Sipping Society, and the Young Company Holiday Cabaret (2021-2023). In 2016 she coached the barbershop quartet for Northport Community Arts Center's production of The Music Man.
Clark has been a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing for over 55 years. She was founding president of the Memphis Chapter and served two terms as Tennessee Governor of the organization. Recently she was profiled in NATS's 75th anniversary series of articles entitled "NATS for a Lifetime."
https://www.nats.org/cgi/page.cgi/_article.html/What_s_New/_NATS_for_a_Lifetime_profiles_Dr._Diane_M._Clark?fbclid=IwAR0ux5qRZbeHEzJypLMu3a8ZhRrYo0-di-MeWGhu584TqCLtjp0jReCkAqk
Clark is a member of the National Association for Music Education and is certified at Level III of Somatic Voicework™The LoVetri Method. From 2006 to 2016 she served as a Certified Solo & Ensemble Adjudicator for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. In 1992 she joined Sweet Adelines International and became a life member in 2018. (See the Barbershop page for more details.)
To inquire about taking private voice lessons, email [email protected] or telephone 231-499-0826. Lessons are also available via Zoom.
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"True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own."
Nikos Kazantzakis
Clark taught university music classes in applied voice, class voice, choral ensembles, music theory, music literature, music & wellness, and women in music. She taught classes in public speaking for 15 years and also coached attorneys on the Rhodes national champion mock trial teams. She served 10 years on the faculty for the interdepartmental humanities course "The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion." In addition to her college teaching, she coached singers and actors in various community theaters in Memphis. She also presented workshops on speaking skills for businesses and organizations throughout the Memphis area.
As a vocal performer, Clark has appeared in recital, opera, oratorio & sacred music, music theatre, jazz, and barbershop venues. In 1985-86, she was Artist-in-Residence for the city of Germantown, TN. She performed with Opera Memphis, the Nashville Opera, the University of Mississippi Opera Theatre, and the Minnesota Opera Summer Institute. She appeared in musicals at the Mobile (Alabama) Theatre Guild, Rhodes College McCoy Theatre, and the Germantown Community Theatre. She was also a professional church musician for 36 years.
Clark was guest faculty for the Taos Opera Institute (New Mexico) in 2008 and 2009, and for the Up North Vocal Institute (Michigan) in 2011. In Traverse City, she has worked with the Old Town Playhouse, serving as Vocal Director for the October, 2013, production of Les Misérables, and as vocal and/or dialect coach for actors in thirteen additional plays:, including Steel Magnolias, Crimes of the Heart, Calendar Girls, Dirty Blonde, The Savannah Sipping Society, and the Young Company Holiday Cabaret (2021-2023). In 2016 she coached the barbershop quartet for Northport Community Arts Center's production of The Music Man.
Clark has been a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing for over 55 years. She was founding president of the Memphis Chapter and served two terms as Tennessee Governor of the organization. Recently she was profiled in NATS's 75th anniversary series of articles entitled "NATS for a Lifetime."
https://www.nats.org/cgi/page.cgi/_article.html/What_s_New/_NATS_for_a_Lifetime_profiles_Dr._Diane_M._Clark?fbclid=IwAR0ux5qRZbeHEzJypLMu3a8ZhRrYo0-di-MeWGhu584TqCLtjp0jReCkAqk
Clark is a member of the National Association for Music Education and is certified at Level III of Somatic Voicework™The LoVetri Method. From 2006 to 2016 she served as a Certified Solo & Ensemble Adjudicator for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. In 1992 she joined Sweet Adelines International and became a life member in 2018. (See the Barbershop page for more details.)
To inquire about taking private voice lessons, email [email protected] or telephone 231-499-0826. Lessons are also available via Zoom.
* * * * * * * * * *
"True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own."
Nikos Kazantzakis
