Dallas Symphony Chorus

Anthony Blake Clark is a leading voice among his generation of choral conductors, in demand by amateur and professional ensembles alike for his “readily apparent musicality” (Baltimore Sun) and his conviction that classical music can transform lives onstage and in the audience.

Dr. Clark has collaborated with many of the world’s foremost orchestras and choruses in leading venues across the United States and Europe. He has prepared choirs for the Berliner Philharmoniker, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and City of Birmingham Symphonies, the Vienna Radio Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony, working with conductors including Marin Alsop, Andris Nelsons, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Fabio Luisi, and Edward Gardner. His choirs have appeared at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Symphony Hall Birmingham (UK), St. Martin-in-the-Fields London, The Kennedy Center, St. Thomas Church Leipzig, and Washington National Cathedral, among others.

Appointed Chorus Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Fabio Luisi in 2023, Clark leads the choral programs of the DSO and prepares its 175-voice chorus for classical, pops, and touring projects. Recent highlights include Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Schmidt’s Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, and a European tour with performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, St. Thomas Leipzig, and Prague’s Smetana Hall. Anthony Blake Clark made his podium debut with the DSO in 2024 as the part of the headline concert at the American Choral Directors Association national conference. The DSC under Clark’s preparation has been featured on Medici TV and the DSO’s “Next Stage” streaming platform with forthcoming label releases including Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Schmidt’s Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln.

At Baltimore Choral Arts, where he serves as Music Director, Clark has expanded subscription offerings while building a robust education and community engagement profile. He has earned strong critical acclaim for his work on the podium and as chorusmaster for the Baltimore Symphony and regional partners, recognition that includes an American Prize in Choral Conducting, a second nomination for best community ensemble, and the Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award. He conducts and produces the televised “Christmas with Choral Arts” concerts first on Maryland’s ABC affiliate, then on Maryland PBS, garnering three regional Emmy® nominations. Recent projects have included a sold-out UK tour and residency with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, a Berlin Philharmonie debut with the Freie Universität Orchester, and performances with the Vienna Radio Orchestra and Vienna Singakademie under Marin Alsop, as well as Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the National Orchestral Institute at Washington National Cathedral.

Equally active on the orchestral podium, Clark made his Baltimore Symphony debut in 2021, his Richmond Symphony debut in 2022, and his Dallas Symphony conducting debut in 2024, and he appears regularly with the National Philharmonic. He has served as cover conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra, assisting Ton Koopman, Gianandrea Noseda, Teddy Abrams, Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, and others, and has frequently assisted Marin Alsop at the Baltimore Symphony. Recent debuts include appearances with the Amarillo Symphony and with the Prague Summer Nights Festival Orchestra at Smetana Hall. In the genre of opera, he has led the North American premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Monster in the Maze and recently conducted Amarillo Opera’s Marriage of Figaro. He has served as assistant conductor and/or chorusmaster for The Merry Widow, Albert Herring, Madame Butterfly, and Götterdämmerung. He was recently invited to guest conduct Choral Space’s At the Opera gala at the Berlin Philharmonie with more than 300 singers and the Freie Universität Orchestra.

Anthony Blake Clark has also served as Artistic Director of Bach Vespers in New York City, presenting Bach’s music in historically informed performances within the liturgical setting at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in midtown Manhattan. He has been Interim Director of Choruses and James Erb Choral Chair for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and he is Co-Artistic Director of the Amalfi Music Festival’s Choir Week, leading choral performances and residencies on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Clark was Director of Choral Activities at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, where his ensembles performed at the Kennedy Center and National Cathedral and collaborated with the Washington Chorus, Baltimore Choral Arts, the Naval Academy Glee Club, and the Baltimore and Annapolis Symphonies. He has served as Guest Conductor/Lecturer for the Westminster Choir College Symphonic Choir and frequently leads workshops and clinics for school, university, and community choirs. Clark is a trusted conducting pedagogue and has coached conductors at the University of North Texas, the American Guild of Organists convention, the Amalfi Music Festival, and as part of his regular work in Dallas and Baltimore.

Mentorship and legacy are central to Clark’s artistic outlook. A former student of Marin Alsop at the Peabody Institute, he is an alumnus of its doctoral conducting program and continues to work closely with her. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Birmingham, where he studied with three-time Grammy Award winner Simon Halsey CBE, his longtime mentor; during his time in the UK he immersed himself in the country’s choral life, singing under Sir Simon Rattle, Edward Gardner, and Andris Nelsons, and conducting the London Symphony Chorus and the CBSO Chorus. His other principal teachers include Dr. Simon Carrington and Dr. Lynne Gackle.

An active composer and arranger, Clark has heard his music performed in Washington, DC, London, Oxford, Texas, and at Prague’s Dvořák Museum Concert Hall. His new performance edition of Mozart’s Requiem was recorded in 2022 by Acis Records.

Kathryn Davidson, a Dallas native, is a conductor, educator, singer, and flutist dedicated to creating community through the choral arts. Kathryn is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of North Texas. Along with serving as a Teaching Assistant at UNT, she is the Chorus Master for Opera Arlington in Arlington, Texas.
 
Kathryn earned the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While at Jacobs, she directed the All-Campus Chorus, served as Assistant Chorus Master for various operas, and was Assistant Conductor of the GRAMMY-nominated Singing Hoosiers. During her time in Bloomington, IN, Kathryn was also the Choir Director at St. Thomas Lutheran Church. Davidson holds a Bachelors of Music Education and Bachelors of Music in Flute Performance from the University of North Texas.
 
As a singer, Kathryn has performed both nationally and internationally as a soloist and professional choral singer. Recent engagements include the Junges Stuttgart Bach Ensemble in Stuttgart, Germany and multiple solo performances with the Bloomington Bach Cantata Project. Kathryn has sung in professional and semi-professional ensembles in Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Washington, Tuscany, Italy, and Stuttgart, Germany.
 
Prior to her graduate studies, Kathryn was the music teacher at Great Hearts Academy in Irving, Texas where she taught choir, music theory, and music history. A strong advocate for music education, Kathryn believes that musical experiences should be a societal priority and accessible for all people. The Dallas Symphony Chorus exemplifies this philosophy, and Kathryn is thrilled to join the vibrant DFW music community.

Michael Lysinger currently serves as Chorus Administrator for the Dallas Symphony Chorus and as Artist Liaison for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Prior to these positions, he taught choral music in Texas public schools for 30 years. For 14 years, he was Head Choral Director at Richardson (TX) J.J. Pearce High School, and for five years directed the Youth Choir at First United Methodist Church - Richardson, Texas. Michael also taught at Plano East Senior High School, Jersey Village High School (Houston), North Shore High School (Houston) and Bradley Middle School (San Antonio). For six seasons, he was the Artistic Director of the Houston Boychoir.

Choirs under Michael's direction have appeared at the 2008 and 1996 Texas Music Educators Convention, the 2001 American Choral Directors Convention and at the 2010 Southwest Convention of the American Choral Directors. He has prepared his choruses for performances with the Houston Symphony, the University of Houston Choruses and the UH Opera. His choirs have toured throughout the USA and abroad to Austria, Hungary, France, The Netherlands, Italy and Mexico. In competition, Michael’s choirs earn consistently high ratings and awards for their performances. As a member of TMEA, he has served as Region Chair, Area Chair, Region Choir Organizer and as a section leader for the All-State Choir.

In 2012, Michael was selected as STARS Teacher of the Year for Richardson (TX) Pearce High School. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and is a member of ACDA, TMEA, TCDA and TMAA. Michael has two children, Abby and Zach.

Melanie Gilmore has been a volunteer member of the Dallas Symphony Chorus since 1995 and took on the part-time role of choral librarian for the Dallas Symphony in 2007. She is a graduate of Baylor University where she was a member of the Golden Wave marching band and concert bands playing French horn. She has also directed and performed in numerous handbell ensembles and served as music librarian for several groups. 

Melanie's career was spent mostly in the corporate world in marketing and event planning. She is married to Norbert and loves working part-time so she can spend time as a community volunteer, and with her family – husband, Norbert, and son, Ryan.