Dr. Keith “K.C.” Clark

Class of 1962 While at OTHS Keith “K.C.” Clark participated in choir, football, wrestling, and tennis. He was a member of the undefeated 1961 football team, qualified for the state tennis tournament, lettered in swimming and wrestling, was in the All State Choir, and received the Arion Award. After graduating from Ottawa High he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D degree, with honors, in Music Theory and Composition from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He later received the Diploma of Merit and conducting award from the Chigiana Music Academy in Italy, diplomas from International Conducting Courses in Holland and Monte-Carlo, and was a Fulbright Fellow at the Vienna Music Academy in Austria, where he lived for many years. He has appeared widely as conductor of major orchestras throughout the world and is featured on many recordings with the London Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic, Korean Symphony, Czechoslovak Radio Symphony, and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, which he founded in Southern California and led to national prominence. His recordings have received Grammy nominations, “Record of the Year” and “Classical Hall of Fame” awards, and Billboard Bestseller listings. He has taught at several American universities and schools of music in Salzburg, Austria, Bucharest, Romania, Chisinau, Moldova, and the Glinka Conservatory in Russia. He has collaborated with numerous musicians, singers, and performers including Blythe Danner, Richard Dreyfus, Chet Atkins, Doc Severinsen, and was conductor for jazz legends Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torme. He is currently active at the Mozart Academy in Salzburg and in Russia as Principal Guest Conductor of the Siberian State Philharmonic and artistic producer of the Globus Theater in Novosibirsk, and in the U.S. serves as Artistic Director of the Astoria Music Festival and Portland SummerFest Opera.