|
 Clardy makes brilliance looks
easy, and she does it with grace, charm, and a sense of humor.
For two decades, Clardy has carefully nurtured and maintained
a multifaceted career. She is a full-time Professor of Flute
at the University of North Texas College of Music. She performs
around the world as a soloist and chamber artist, and previously
also squeezed in symphonic work as alto flutist with the Dallas
Symphony Orchestra. She is also very involved with the National
Flute Association, as well as performing nationally and internationally.
A sought-after educator, she gives masterclasses in the US and
abroad. She is the author of three books published by European
American/Warner, which are all in multiple reprint. She is also
an active recording artist, recording for the Klavier label with
the chamber group Wood, Wind, and Silk. And without exception,
she acts in each of these roles with the highest standards of
excellence. Her's is a career that often leaves peers, fans,
and students wondering: "How does she do that?" But
Clardy says it's really no big mystery.
"Mine is a very equal approach to
a professional career," says Clardy. "I often think
in shapes: when you have a triangle, for example, sometimes one
of the points becomes more dominant. I try to look at it in a
more circular fashion, in that a portion of every day is devoted
to all three parts. At the center is the fact that I'm motivated
by a genuine love for music, and a creative search to push the
envelope as a player. That has to drive every thing else--like
the spokes of a wheel, it all extends out from that."
But Clardy admits readily that a love
of music is only part of the equation. Holding together a multidimensional
career with a minimal amount of stress requires excellent organizational
skills.
"I do believe in a daily schedule--not
only for myself, but also for the people that I impact,"
she says. "I'm very insistent about it, because so often
I encounter these phenomenally creative people who have been
urged to believe that a lack of discipline is going to get them
someplace! That might get you through your first contest at age
18, but after that you're going to find yourself up against decent,
disciplined competitors-the ones that are successful at winning
auditions."
The Early Bird...
Clardy's approach to scheduling may seem
a little unusual to some, but there's no question that it works.
After taking the early morning hour to sip some coffee and take
care of daily correspondence, Clardy has soon finished her personal
practice for the day and is ready to begin teaching.
"I do my own practicing and teaching
early in the day," she explains. "Playing early in
the day tends to get the pipes flowing, so to speak. So most
days through the university year I'll start my teaching at 8
am; I've even been known to start at 7. I know it's not terribly
popular, but by the end of the year-to a person-everyone says
it works and they'd never change the system."
And while those who prefer a more easygoing
schedule might call Clardy's approach madness, there's a true
method to this madness and it's hard to dispute. Far from being
rigid, Clardy says that her scheduling technique is merely a
means to allow her the freedom to enjoy all the various aspects
of her career without undue physical or mental stress.
"If I've gotten my own personal
technical regime out of the way, it leaves me free after one
or two o'clock to plan and put together repertoire for the new
concert season," explains Clardy. "If I haven't started
technical work until after I teach, then I'm faced with a couple
of hours of just scales and the kind of things that I need to
do before I can get into repertoire. Frankly, it's just a time
issue." |
The clear and simple
sense of it all helps answer that question of "How does
she do that?" It also goes far in explaining the level of
success her students have achieved, many of them going on to
win competitions throughout the world like Rampal, NFA, and MTNA,
as well as building promising teaching careers of their own.
Clardy uses the principles that guide her own career, and she
shares them with her students continuously.
"I have a motto," she says.
"'Organization allows creativity to flourish.' Some students
have been encouraged to believe that creativity is freedom. But
freedom is only creativity that is organized. That's probably
the most difficult thing to instill in students. They've got
all these creative juices flowing and they're so excited. It's
so hard to say to them, 'But you've got to learn the rules first.'"
Underneath that motto is a deeply rooted
relationship to teaching that is a part of Clardy's own background.
The Art of Teaching
"I have the benefit of having come
from a long line of people who were marvelous teachers, and not
just music teachers," she says. "People for whom the
art of teaching-and I do think it's an art-was highly developed.
It's a way of working with each individual person, rather than
looking at people as a formula and just sort of plugging in the
same thing from person to person.
"Students all come from a different
vantage point, so they bring a set of circumstances with them.
Sometimes you'll find that one technical area is highly developed,
or there's maybe a lack of knowledge of basic use of tone quality
or vibrato to go with that marvelous technique. I think that
the job of the most highly developed teacher should be to look
at each student, find their strengths, and move directly to their
weaknesses. Working with those first develops them to where the
whole becomes more balanced."
Above all, says Clardy, she tries to
develop her students' focus on the force that drives a successful
career in music.
"My motivator as a performer, teacher,
and composite musician is a love for music and creative expression,
and a belief that music is a language that transcends words,"
she says. "In the teaching process, I hold that above all
else, meaning that it's the focus we all work for-then I try
to allow tonal and technical development to move only toward
that goal. That 'edge of the envelope' we all push for is such
a high and noble goal that I think it helps all of us. That's
probably the secret to why the students are doing so well. They're
focused on the right thing, and that's simply the love of music.
Otherwise, how do you develop and maintain a career across a
30-, 40-, 50-year span if you don't do it for the right reason?"
Tools of the Trade
In Clardy's life, where everything has
its proper place, it naturally follows that she emphasizes the
importance of choosing the right equipment for the job. Clardy
plays on Yamaha custom 800 series and 900 series flutes, but
she feels Yamaha's high quality and consistency are benefits
incorporated throughout the entire product range. "The new
500 series fills a previous gap," she says. "Playing
on this instrument will develop embouchure, and as a result,
intonation, dynamic range, and ensemble blend also improves.
The 500 series reacts like a flute in a higher price range."
She confidently recommends Yamaha flutes to her students: "Young
players need an instrument that offers durability, ease of response,
and consistency. Yamaha is the clear leader in all these areas,
and the price point is comparable to or better than many other
models on the market."
Significantly, Clardy also stresses the
company's ongoing support of student music. "Yamaha's commitment
to music education as a part of culture is a very strong selling
point," she says. For a committed educator like Mary Karen
Clardy, this is one of the most valuable reasons to choose Yamaha.
--Clardy
plays a YFL-994AH 14k gold flute. |
|
Performer, Teacher...
and Now, Writer!
As if her multifaceted career as performer, teacher, and clinician
weren't enough, Mary Karen Clardy is increasingly known as an
author of flute studies. Here, she shares how she got started,
along with a few tips on how she manages this part of her hectic
life.
 "Over 10 years ago, a publisher
came to me and said they'd really like to be a part of what I
was doing. My first reaction was shock--but I told them to let
me know what they wanted, give me a date, and I'd be happy do
write it. That wasn't the way they wanted it to work: they told
me to choose a topic, and then fit it into my own schedule. I
felt like a kid in a candy shop! I tried to think of what would
I really find useful. I remembered all the times my students
would say, "I just loved this one exercise, but I've forgotten
it; could you please help me remember how to practice it?"
So, that first book actually wound up being a compilation of
things.
"Not everybody publishes
books. I've done a lot of writing on a daily basis, through the
years. I've learned that it helps me focus my teaching, and it
helps my students understand more clearly what I'm actually after
if I can put it into very concise language.
"Keeping those particular
"writing chops" ready to go is just like keeping the
scales ready to go. If you stop the act of writing, you lose
that acuity, you lose the speed, and the flow. So I always make
sure that I've done some writing, maybe even it's is just a chronicle
of the day. I urge students to keep a journal of their practice,
because they will find that a journal helps focus what they've
actually done. I think it becomes more cohesive--you can remember
it for the next day, and move on from there." |