Blake Clawson is a musician at the intersection of composition, conducting, education, research, and performance. Currently serving as Music Director for the new-music choir Renova New Music Ensemble as well as a dual master’s student in composition and choral conducting at the University of Colorado Boulder, Blake is an active collaborator and seeker of art that inspires and draws people together.

Recent musical escapades include a choral arrangement for an upcoming double album by recording artist John Van Deusen, an Icelandic-language choral cycle commissioned by the Rocky Mountain Chorale, and Evergreen Cycles, a trio for two flutes and harp exploring the life cycle of forests. Blake’s music weaves the serenity of natural landscapes with wonder, occasionally infusing modern folk sensibility and rollicking groove. While choral music is chief among his interests, Blake is also inspired by jazz, punk rock, bluegrass, and folk traditions from around the world.

Blake’s choral works have been performed by ensembles across the country, including KC VITAs (dir. Jackson Thomas), Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble (dir. Loren Pontén), and the Rocky Mountain Chorale (dir. Jimmy Howe). His instrumental music has been performed by professional and collegiate ensembles alike, including ~Nois saxophone quartet, the Whitworth Orchestra (dir. Philip Baldwin), and the CU Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra (dir. Renee Gilliland).

In addition to teaching Aural Skills courses at CU Boulder, Blake serves as a Graduate Assistant in the choral department and teaches composition, piano, and jazz at Parlando School of Musical Arts. His primary research focus is Icelandic choral music, both past and present. Blake’s teachers include Coreen Duffy, Elizabeth Swanson, Annika Socolofsky, Carter Pann (CU Boulder), Marc Hafso, Brent Edstrom (Whitworth University), Leonie Holmes, Karen Grylls (University of Auckland), and Kirk Marcy (Edmonds Community College). Apart from music, Blake enjoys skiing, looking at birds, basking in the fresh stillness of a misty forest, and hanging out with his super cool wife.