“There are trajectories of life that strike the imagination and seem to indicate that beyond the vicissitudes of fate, nothing is left to chance. The life of the young Canadian composer Adam Vincent Clarke is one of those — from his modest childhood in Nova Scotia to the great European concert halls where his works are presented today.”
La Scena Musicale

ADAM VINCENT CLARKE

COMPOSER OF BALLET, THEATRE, OPERA, AND CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC


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 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.

A two-time nominee for the East Coast Music Award for Classical Composer of the Year, Adam attributes much of his success to his musical beginnings and mentors. Adam began his musical explorations on the bagpipes in his home, Nova Scotia, where the influence of folkloric tradition left a lasting impression. He earned a Bachelor of Music in composition under the tutelage of Derek Charke and Dinuk Wijeratne, studying guitar with Eugene Cormier. Adam received his Masters’s Degree in composition under Wim Henderickx- his thesis focusing on the cross-genre principles of solo cello repertoire and heavy metal music.

"...rich in sound, always surprising with new harmonies. It never becomes descriptive in an easy way but opens the imagination of the listener, only suggesting to him the outline of an image, even some details that you had in mind while composing. I think that’s characteristic for real composers: they can freeze a poetic image in sound. They do more than just writing a nice tune: they paint".

Marc van Rompaey, Radio Klara Belgium

 Coming in 2025–2026

In early 2025, Adam composed two new works for choreographer Nicola Wills: Walk on By for the National Ballet of Albania, and Fiction for the Origen Festival, whose score was described as brilliant by Tanznetz.de. In the upcoming season, he will compose a new piece for the Junior Company of Dutch National Ballet, a new dance work with John-William Watson for Sadler’s Wells, and a piano four-hands piece for Michelle Lynn and Dimitri Malignan. Adam is developing PUPO, a full-length music-theatre production set in a war-torn Eastern European city. The work follows a child and their parents as they navigate fear, hunger, and imagination while sheltering in place. Drawing on themes of survival, memory, and myth, PUPO interweaves live piano, Bulgarian vocal traditions, Scottish smallpipes, and AI-generated voices within a visual world of salvaged suitcases and shifting shadows. Developed in collaboration with Muziektheater Transparant and directed by Krystian Lada, PUPO will premiere in 2026, with touring across Europe and Canada to follow.

 

Black and white photo of Adam Vincent Clarke with styled hair, a nose piercing, and a short beard, looking slightly to the side.
Adam Vincent Clarke, and Svetlin Hristof in formal black suits leaning against archways in a well-lit, elegant hallway with patterned tile flooring and white walls.

SELECTED WORKS

STAGE WORKS
(Dance / Theatre / Opera)

2026

  • PUPO – 60’, original music-theatre production (Muziektheater Transparant, deSingel – Antwerp, BE)

  • Four Seasons – 60’ reimagined for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre (Atlanta, USA)

2025

  • Fiction – 60’ score for Nicola Wills (Origen Festival, CH)

  • These Are Not People – new work with John-William Watson (Sadler’s Wells, London, UK)

  • Walk on By – commissioned by the National Ballet of Albania

2024

  • Devotion – for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre (Atlanta, USA)

  • Dos – commissioned by Oscar Ramos & Andanza Company (San Juan, PR)

  • Two People in Love Never Shake Hands – commissioned by BalletX (Philadelphia, USA)

2023

  • Study II (Sweetspot) – Shane Urton, RDT Utah (Salt Lake City, USA)

  • Why This Chair Does Not Exist – John-William Watson (Messums Wiltshire, UK)

2022

2021–2023

  • SOLO ONE – a duet with Oscar Ramos (Blikfabriek BE, LCD Madrid, Bellas Artes PR, CORSO BE)

2019

  • I Don’t (We) Know – Royal Ballet of Flanders, choreolab, choreographed by Daniel Domenech

2018

  • Y Tú - Royal Ballet of Flanders, choreolab, choreographed by Daniel Domenech

Concert Works
(Chamber / Solo / Ensemble)

2025

  • Ixelles – for solo piano (4’)

2024

  • PUPO – piano sonata for Dimitri Malignan (35’)

  • Dornei – for solo piano (9’)

  • 23 Folk Duets – for two violins (30’)

2022

  • Kafka – for guitar duet (5’)

2021

  • Prelude – for Nicolas Dupont & Olga Kirpicheva (4’)

2019

2018

2015

  • Life – for solo guitar (8’)

  • Three Memories – for guitar quartet, recorded by Four Aces Guitar Quartet (10’)

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