Anthony Blake Clark (DSO Chorus Director)

Today’s Music Maker is Anthony Blake Clark, director and conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, the all-volunteer official vocal ensemble of the DSO, just in time for our performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. If you’ve ever experienced a performance of this monumental work — also known as the “Symphony of a Thousand” — you know it’s less like a concert and more like a force of nature. Nearly 400 players, including singers from three choruses, come together for a sound like nothing you’ve ever heard. Blake, and the Dallas Symphony Chorus are an integral part of this undertaking, which you can see at the DSO this week, for the first time in more than 25 years. In this episode, Blake takes us behind the scenes of the 190-member Dallas Symphony Chorus, from the massive coordination required for productions like Mahler 8 to the unique culture of choir life itself. He shares why singing is one of the most vulnerable forms of music-making, how growing up in Amarillo shaped his love of storytelling through music, and why he believes music really can change the world by changing people. We also talk about his path from singer and composer to chorus conductor, and we put him through an important test: rating stereotypical singer pre-concert rituals, from lip trills to avoiding dairy to never, ever saying “break a leg.” I hope you enjoy getting to know Blake in this episode. Find us on social media @dallassymphony, and be sure to follow Music Makers wherever you’re listening so you never miss an episode.