A vagabond of the Canadian East Coast, Adam Vincent Clarke (b.1992, Nova Scotia) is an internationally acclaimed composer and sound artist whose music is characterized by its richly poetic nature, folkloric roots, and vibrant imagery. Rooted in Canada, developed in Germany, and established in Belgium, Adam often composes with a tone of gewaltsame Schönheit (violent beauty), his compositions balance lush harmony, dramatic narratives, and multidisciplinary fluency.
Adam’s expertise in reflecting dialogue and storytelling through music has seen him in high demand throughout Europe and North America as a composer of ballet, contemporary dance, chamber and theatre music. Recent performances of his work include John-William Watson’s “Hang in there, Baby” at the renowned Sadler’s Wells Theatre (London, UK), Y Tú for the Royal Ballet of Flanders (Flanders, BE), Sweetspot for Shane Urton and Repertory Dance Theatre (Utah, USA), and Two people in love can never shake hands for BalletX (Philadelphia, USA) with choreographer Nicola Wills. In these works, Adam weaves together live instruments, electronic soundscapes, and recorded dialogues from people all around the world; from battlefields to the beaches of Crete.
A prolific artist, Adam also brings creative concepts to life through independent projects, including PUPO, Contr (a / o) vers (e / u) s and SOLO ONE.
Adam’s chamber music oeuvre includes many compositions for strings and piano, including a guitar quartet ‘Three Memories,’ recorded and released by the Four Aces Guitar Quartet on Antarctica Records. His works for strings also includes a set of 23 Violin duets based on Balkan themes, and a Prelude and violin sonata for which he was nominated for an ECMA. As a nod to his compositional roots as a storyteller, Adam’s solo piano sonata, PUPO, is a poignant Soviet re-telling of Pinocchio. Taking place in a war-torn Eastern European city, PUPO pays homage to the original Italian story of Pinocchio, evoking both a dark and playful atmosphere.
As a composer-in-residence with the international touring group Ensemble Silakbo, Adam has toured Europe and shared the stage with Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Untitled for Vagabonds and Orchestra. His compositions for the Est-Ouest ensemble including La Danse Balkanique were inspired by Balkan folk music. With the support of Canada Council for the Arts, they gave a tour of these performances throughout five Canadian cities.
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“Woven into the fabric of human nature is our endless pursuit of certainty. In search for understanding, we pack ourselves into neat little boxes, each with a label to guide us towards what we come to understand as our ‘true self’. Humans find comfort in structure, yet structure confines and imprisons. It fails to capture the complexity of the human spirit, which blossoms in intricate colours as we let go of the blinding limitations we place upon this world. Led by their insatiable curiosity about the human perception of the world, dancer/performer Lore Borremans and composer Adam Vincent Clarke embark on their own quest for freedom. Their piece ‘contr (a/o) vers (e/u) s’ is an intimate bodily and audiovisual meditation on human nature, a delicate yet blunt dance on the borderlines of identity. In their radical symphony of movement and sound, Lore and Adam delve beyond the façade of singular labels to show that what lurks underneath is more than meets the eye.”
Silvija Daniunaite (Subbacultcha Magazine)
Hang in there, Baby! was commissioned by and premiered at Sadler’s Wells in Autumn 2022.
In Hang in There, Baby, Watson explores our relationship with destiny, fate and decision making from the depths of a new year’s office party. With an original score by Antwerp-based sound-artist and composer Adam Vincent Clarke and an original script written by Watson, this sci-fi dark comedy marks a first in their collaboration with both original music and playwriting.
Prélude for Violin and Piano was composed for Belgian violinist Nicolas Dupont, and Russian pianist Olga Kirpicheva in Autumn 2020. This performance was recorded in the Concert Hall of the Koninklijjk Conservatorium Brussel in February, 2021.
This work was twice nominated for Classical Composition of the Year, East Coast Music Awards.
PUPO, meaning “child” and “puppet” in Italian is a piano sonata composed for Dimitri Malignan.
Composing the score of “Two People in Love Can Never Shake Hands” for Ballet X in Philadelphia, USA. Scored for big band, voice and string quartet.
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