Adam V. Clarke: Building a Musical Bridge between Europe and Canada

Adam Vincent Clarke is a contemporary music and sound artist from Nova Scotia who is now based in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2015, he received a Talent Trust scholarship for composition and went on to win the Kenneth Elloway Award.  In a recent interview on Eastlink Magazine, Adam spoke about the impact the Talent Trust had on his journey to become an established artist: 

"As a direct result of the Talent Trust, I ended up getting my first official commission as a composer just after graduation and it opened up the opportunity of me moving to Antwerp in Belgium.  Without the Talent Trust's help, that wouldn't have happened.  It wouldn't have given me that start."

Adam recently returned to Nova Scotia with his project Est-Ouest, a musical presentation that brings together the folk traditions of Canada and Bulgaria and fuses them with contemporary classical compositions. Together with fellow composers Svetlin Hristov from Bulgaria and Liam Elliot from Canada, the trio created three works for the Silakbo Ensemble  based on the musical traditions of each other's country, combined with their own contemporary perspectives of Canadian and Belgian folklore. 

The Canadian tour of East-West launched on Nov. 1 in Montreal at Jeunesses Musicales Canada’s Joseph-Rouleau Hall, with a perfomance in Ottawa on Nov. 3, and Toronto on Nov. 5 and 7.  The tour concluded with two Nova Scotia performances on Nov. 10 in Wolfville and Nov. 13 in Halifax.  Est-Ouest was performed by the Ensemble Silakbo, which includes Adam Vincent Clarke playing Bulgarian bagpipes, Mikko Pablo on cello, Angelina-Ogniana Gotcheva on clarinet, Yoanna Bozhkova on soprano, Bogdan Ivanov on piano, and Edgar Gomes on violin.

During this tour, Adam was interviewed by Eastlink Community TV for Eastlink Magazine:

Adam is the co-founder of the music and dance-theatre company Âmok/Âmok. and has collaborated with the Royal Ballet of Flanders and Spanish choreographer Daniel Domenech.  He is also composer-in-residence with Ensemble Silakbo and was nominated for the 2022 East Coast Music Award for Classical Composer of the Year. For more about Adam, his works, and performances, please visit his website.

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The Talent Trust would like to acknowledge the support of Eastlink Community TV in providing the above video, and for airing our Special Awards Ceremony each December/January.  Thank you!