Listen to the full interview online dulwich.org.uk/old-alleynians-home/oa-stories
PAGE 29
2019
RODNEY CLARKE As part of the College’s celebration of Black History Month, opera singer and Old Alleynian, Rodney Clarke (89-96), was invited to speak about his time at the College and his subsequent career in the music business. He spoke candidly about his views on race and how tokenism should play no part in the audition process. We are delighted to share his interview with you in this issue.
Yet it was his singing to which he was particularly drawn, not least because it was something ‘that I knew I was good at; that when I sang it made people smile’. He credits in particular Lindsay Constable, his Form Tutor in the Middle School, and Director of Music, Michael Ashcroft, who ‘both saw something in me that they believed should be nurtured and developed.’ Rodney points to a pivotal moment in his time at the College when he was asked to sing a solo from Handel’s Messiah in the Winter Concert at the Fairfield Halls. ‘This was a massive undertaking for a student, normally the solo performances were given to adults, to members of staff and there I was standing alone in front of a choir of two hundred of my peers, alongside my teachers and in front of an audience of hundreds more.’ After leaving Dulwich in 1996, Rodney joined the Royal Academy of Music ‘not even aware that you could have a career in music’ and certainly not in possession of the necessary qualifications. While he had achieved Grade 8 in the piano, he did not have either a GCSE or an A Level in Music. He does though recognise that while instrumental grades are an important measure of ability, it is the human voice that provides an instantaneous vehicle for ‘touching the heart’. It was this ability to connect that saw him pass the audition process and enter an institution that was, under the tutelage of Professor Mark Wildman, to be his home away from home for the next seven years. At the Academy he was exposed to the widest possible range of singing styles and genres, although it was not until his third year when he started to sing opera. ‘It immediately resonated with me, it was something that allowed me to align my singing with my love of acting and it reaffirmed my belief that I had made the right choice in looking to singing for my career. In 2001, Rodney was awarded the prestigious Richard Lewis / Jean Shanks Award, and in 2014 he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. Rodney speaks openly and honestly about the impact of the Black Live Matter movement and the part prejudice has played in his career. He has always worked hard to be the very best that he can be to ‘stand out from the crowd’, making experiences such as being mistaken for an electrician instead of the evening’s soloist all the more galling and hurtful. He has views too on the dangers of tokenism, of ‘casting black performers for a role, to fill some nominal quota, to tick a box’. It goes against everything Rodney has been fighting for all his professional career. ‘I hate seeing someone on stage just because they are black and not the best person for the job’. He praises those companies that are looking to employ the best and most ethnically diverse cast. Hailed by Gramaphone as ‘a singer to be watched’, Rodney has many more years left to be different, to be the best he can possibly be. He recognises that he is fortunate to be able to pick and choose the roles he takes on, not just those that pay the bills but those often smaller highly personal projects that provide you with ‘life affirming parts that come from hubs of creative and addictive energy’. Roles that will continue to make his seven-year-old son proud of his dad.
Rodney Earl Clarke is a professional bass-baritone opera singer. He has extensive experience on stage, having performed in a wide range of TV, film, concerts, opera and musical theatre. His contributions to the music industry have not gone unrecognised, and he was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014. In 2016, some Old Alleynians may remember the performance that he and his classical crossover group Vox Fortura gave at the College en route to appearing in the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent. His most recent project before COVID hit was Les Misérables, where he took on the role of the Bishop of Digne. He has appeared in The Magic Flute and as an opera pundit on the BBC Proms, an opera singer in Hidden Talent, and Broadway Sounds Prom. One of five children, Rodney was born in Greenwich, South London, in 1978, to Jamaican parents who first met in the UK in the 1960’s. ‘Like most parents, they wanted the best for us. They looked at the paths taken by other successful children. What schools did they attend? What extra-curricular activities did they take part in? As a black family, I think they felt that they had to work that much harder to get hold of the information needed to succeed. There was certainly no universal access to the internet as there is now’. Rodney came to Dulwich in September 1989 at the age of 11; ‘partly because of the architecture’ he says. He describes his time at the school as ‘very rewarding’ and came to recognise what he terms ‘the beautifully competitive environment’ that it provided. My parents always had my best interests at heart and I certainly did not arrive at the College looking for prejudice. ‘While I was aware that there were very few black pupils, I certainly didn’t experience any overt prejudice, although in hindsight I do recognise a certain amount of ignorance exhibited by those who thought that because of who I was I would behave in a certain way’. He was, in his own words ‘good but not excellent academically’, going on to take History, Religious Studies and English at A Level. Outside the classroom Rodney played a lot of sport; in particular Cricket, Rugby and Hockey but it was the theatre and drama to which he was particularly drawn. ‘It was the environment that fulfilled the need to latch onto something in order to express myself, to call it mine and celebrate’. He speaks warmly of Peter Jolly, Maggie Jarman and a Drama department who were ‘so willing and able to expose me to a high level of theatrical studies’. It was a world that Rodney embraced and one which developed not only his performing skills, but also helped him (along with his singing) to overcome a stutter he had had since childhood.
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