Dr. Michael Clark | Founder

Michael Clark is a pianist and teacher devoted to practical solutions in pedagogy. Clark researches historical approaches to piano fingering, particularly those of prominent composers and pianists. Clark has appeared in fourteen states as a soloist, chamber musician, and clinician, specializing in twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoire. His recent collaborations with living composers include the first commercial recording of Karim Al-Zand’s “Stomping Grounds” for violin, clarinet, and piano, for Navona Records, and the premiere of David Mahloch’s “A Light” for mezzo-soprano, guitar, violin, and piano.

 A member of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) since 2010, Clark currently chairs the Texas MTNA Competition. He previously served on the Executive Board of Texas Music Teachers Association and as president of Forum Music Teachers Association. Clark is active in the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy and recently contributed to their From the Artist Bench, Inspiring Artistry, and Quick Teaching Tips video series. His pedagogical writing has appeared in American Music Teacher, Piano Magazine, and the MTNA e-Journal.

 Clark was appointed as Lecturer in Piano at Baylor University in 2022. Before coming to Baylor, he taught in collegiate, studio, and community outreach settings in the Houston area. Clark earned the DMA in Piano Performance with the Certificate in Teaching and Learning from Rice University, MM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Houston, and BM in Piano Performance from Ithaca College. His primary teachers include Robert Roux, Nancy Weems, Jennifer Hayghe, and Melinda Smashey Jones. Clark studied pedagogy with Courtney Crappell and John Weems and has been a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) since 2017.

Visit https://www.michaelclarkpiano.com/ to learn more.

Patrick Lenz | Chief Engraver

Patrick W. Lenz (b.1994) is a current Doctor of Music student in Composition and Associate Instructor at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Patrick completed his M.M. in Composition at Rice University (’19) and his B.M. in Composition at Baylor University (’17). Patrick’s main musical interests are in using contemporary techniques to create music that glorifies God (with strong influence from the ideas of Olivier Messiaen) and the musical intersection of busking music and classical instrumental performance (influenced by the music of Too Many Zooz).

Recently, the Houston Symphony commissioned What it Takes to Thrive for chamber orchestra and narrator as a part of their 2019 concert series titled Refugee Resilience; following its premier, the Houston Symphony commissioned an edition for full orchestra and narrator that was intended to be a part of their 2020 season. Patrick’s composition Internal and External Martial Arts was selected as the winner of the 2018 International Woodwind Duo Symposium Composition Contest (recorded by Albany Records). His composition for Wind Ensemble, Pillar of Fire, was recognized by ASCAP in the 2018 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, was named the winner of the 2019 Charles B. Olson Composition Contest, the 2018 Red Note New Music Composition Competition, and the 2016 Baylor University Composition Contest. Patrick has studied composition with Dr. P.Q. Phan, Dr. Shih Hui Chen, Dr. Anthony Brandt, Dr. Scott McAllister, and Dr. Edward Taylor.

Visit http://patricklenzmusic.com/ to learn more.

Theo Chandler| Senior Engraver

Theo Chandler is a Houston-based composer of concert music and stage works. His music finds inspiration in the nuances of instrumental idiom, as well as the dramatic potential of soloistic outpourings within ensemble settings. Chandler is a recipient of the Copland House Residency Award, SCI/ASCAP Graduate Commission, American Prize for Vocal Chamber Music, Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Award, Charles Ives Scholarship from the Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Graduate Music Award from the Presser Foundation. Chandler has received commissions from the New York Youth Symphony First Music Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Utah Arts Festival, Les Délices, Golden West Winds, and others. He was selected as a winner of Juilliard's Orchestra Competition, Juilliard's Gena Raps Competition, the New Juilliard Ensemble Competition, the Maryland Wind Festival Call for Scores, and was runner up for the Red Note New Music Festival Chamber Music Competition.

Chandler has been a fellow at the Cabrillo Festival Composers Workshop, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Mizzou International Composers Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Copland House Cultivate, and Aspen Music Festival. He has been the Composer in Residence for the Maryland Wind Festival, Young Artist Composer for Da Camera, Emerging Composer Fellow for Musiqa, Composer in Residence for Les Délices, Young Composer in Residence for the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and participated in the I-Park Composer + Musicians Collaborative Residency with Akropolis Reed Quintet.

Chandler holds degrees from Rice University (DMA), The Juilliard School (MM), and Oberlin Conservatory (BM). His composition teachers include Pierre Jalbert, Shih-Hui Chen, Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, Melinda Wagner, Samuel Adler, Steven Stucky, Lewis Nielson, and Dan Tacke.

Visit https://www.theochandler.com/ to learn more.