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Memoriam of Dr. William Clark

In Memoriam of Dr. William Clark

The NMSU Music Department wishes to express our deep sorrow at the passing of Dr. William Clark and convey our condolences to his family. For many of us, Dr. Clark was not only a music mentor, but a true inspiration for our lives. He was the Director of Bands at New Mexico State University and was responsible for doubling the number of music majors to more than 200 during his eleven years as Department Chair at NMSU. In addition to his responsibilities at NMSU he was the founder of the Mesilla Valley Concert Band.During his time as director of the MVCB he gave over 220 free concerts to over 150,000 people. He also founded the Las Cruces All-City Middle School Honor Band and began the Las Cruces New Horizons Band program. He was named the Las Cruces Citizen of the Year in 1988 and the New Mexico Music Educator of the Year in 1992. In 1993 he was inducted as a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, the highest honor bestowed upon professional bandmasters. In 2007, he was inducted into the NMMEA Hall of Fame and received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2015. In 2017 he received the Platinum Music Award given by the New Mexico Music Commission.

The awards and accolades bestowed upon Dr. Clark are numerous, but, the charm, the wit, the intelligence, and the outright humanity that he displayed are what many remember. He had a way of making every single person feel welcome and could make anyone feel special. 

Many of us owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Clark for being a very special part of, not only, our musical education, but our lives. He will be greatly missed.

Memoriam of Dr. William Clark
For Dr. Jim Shearer's 2016 StoryCorps interview with Dr. Clark, please follow the link below: