Jennifer Ward Clarke (20 June 1935 – 1 March 2015) was a British cellist. After an early career in contemporary music, she later specialised in baroque music and performances on

period instruments In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

Early life and career

Jennifer Ward Clarke was born in Yateley, Hampshire on 20 June 1935, the daughter of Dorothea (''née'' Devitt) and Harry Ward Clarke, a prep school headteacher. At Benenden School in Kent she became interested in the cello, and studied at London's

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

with

Ivor James Ivor James CBE (1882–1963) Percy A. Scholes. "James, Ivor". ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Oxford University Press, 1964. was a British cellist. He taught for many years at the Royal College of Music; among his pupils were those who bec ...

, where she won the prize for cello. She won a scholarship to study for a year at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

with

Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he b ...

. On three occasions she took part in the masterclasses in Switzerland of Pablo Casals.Jennifer Ward Clarke obituary
Duncan Druce in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 11 March 2015, accessed 19 January 2017.Jennifer Ward Clarke, cellist – obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' 15 March 2015, accessed 19 January 2017. In London she played for a period in the Philharmonia Orchestra under

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

, and in the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

. She was a founder member in 1965 of the Pierrot Players, later renamed the

Fires of London The Fires of London, founded as the Pierrot Players, was a British chamber music ensemble which was active from 1965 to 1987. The Pierrot Players was founded by Harrison Birtwistle, Alan Hacker, and Stephen Pruslin.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 13 ...

, and with them took part in the first performances of ''

Eight Songs for a Mad King ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble, the Pierrot Player ...

'' by Peter Maxwell Davies, and ''Medusa'' by

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

. She was a founder member of the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

in 1968, and played with them for several years.

Baroque music

In 1968 Jennifer Ward Clarke played with Paul Steinitz in the Steinitz Bach Players, and became interested in continuo playing in baroque music. She later played with the Monteverdi Orchestra, the London Classical Players, the Taverner Players and the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

.Obituary: British cellist Jennifer Ward Clarke
''

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello and double bassfor amateur and professional musicians. Founded in 1889, the magazine provides information, photographs and ...

'' 16 April 2015, accessed 19 January 2017. She was a member of the Music Party, a chamber group playing 18th century music, set up in 1972 by the clarinettist

Alan Hacker Alan Ray Hacker (30 September 1938 – 16 April 2012) was an English clarinettist, conductor, and music professor. Biography He was born in Dorking, Surrey in 1938, the son of Kenneth and Sybil Hacker.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 1302, (A&C Bl ...

, and the Academy of Ancient Music, founded in 1973. In 1982 she became a member of the Salomon Quartet, set up to perform classical music on period instruments; she toured and made recordings with the quartet until her retirement in 2009. From the 1980s she was professor of baroque cello at the Royal Academy of Music. She was married to the writer Michael Foss, and they had a daughter Kate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Jennifer Ward 1935 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Hampshire Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music English classical cellists 20th-century classical musicians 21st-century classical musicians British performers of early music Women performers of early music Women music educators 21st-century English women musicians 20th-century cellists 21st-century cellists