Karen Clark (BMus Hons, ARAM) studied bassoon and piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she received the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence, the Louise Child Prize for Academic Achievement and the Irene Burcher Prize for Woodwind. Karen pursued a successful career as a bassoon soloist, performing and recording with several of the UK and Europe’s leading orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester, Zürich. In 2009, Karen gave a solo performance at the BBC Proms.

Since 2012, Karen has pursued her passion for music education, and has worked extensively for NYCOS, delivering Kodály education workshops in schools across Scotland, as well as teaching musicianship and conducting at the West Lothian Area Choir. She is also the coordinator of several NYCOS projects, including the Active Learning programme for Early Years and the Wee Sing choir for P3 pupils across Scotland. In 2014, Karen gained her PGDE (primary) to further develop her skills and passion in education, with a focus on developing music education within the primary school curriculum. Karen regularly delivers training sessions for nursery and primary school teachers, providing an introduction into the Kodály approach and how it can be delivered in the primary classroom.

Karen is also a musicianship lecturer at the RCS Junior Conservatoire and the RSNO Junior chorus, and has also delivered musicianship at Big Noise, Raploch. Most recently, she has been involved in the creation of the Kodály HUB - a new online music education resource developed in collaboration with NYCOS, the RCS, the Liszt Academy Budapest, the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and the Netherlands Youth Choir. Alongside project managing, Karen was responsible for the editing and testing of new educational materials for primary pupils, as well as creating new resources and contributing to the development of a new curriculum.