A newcomer to the choral composing scene, Clark William Lawlor (b. 1980) is somewhat of a dark horse, having never worked professionally in music. Nevertheless, since resuming his passion for composing in late 2022, Clark has been a winner or finalist in multiple composing competitions. His first choral work in over 20 years (“I denna ljuva sommartid”) saw instant success on his YouTube channel with several thousand views in the first few weeks, and his collaboration with Charles Anthony Silvestri (“Gift of Winter”) saw similar success. Clark was recently selected to attend a composer’s workshop at Lehigh University where he worked under the tutelage of composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.

Clark gained his love of music during high school choir and music theory classes. Once armed with the secrets of music theory, Clark wrote and arranged several pieces of music to perform with his high school friends and fellow choir nerds. Clark later triple-majored in piano performance, choral ed, and composition at the University of Utah School of Music. However, due to family and financial demands he ultimately dropped out to pursue a more “responsible” career.

After a long and circuitous route exploring other career options, including a B.S. in Accounting, a false start in an M.B.A program, and finally an M.S. in Information Systems, Clark now works full-time as a software engineer. However, he hopes to transition back to his original dream career as a composer within the next few years.

Clark lives with his wife and 5 children near Salt Lake City, Utah, where he sings tenor with the Salt Lake Vocal Artists. Clark also enjoys cycling and pickleball.