Herbert L. Clarke

American cornet player, composer, conductor, teacher and one of the most influential musicians at the turn of the 20th Century (September 12, 1867–January 30, 1945).

He is widely considered one of the greatest cornet soloists of all time. Clarke’s legacy includes some of the most popular compositions for the instrument, many definitive recordings, as well as a seminal school of playing which emphasized not only extreme technical aptitude, but also increased warmth and lyricism of tone. He also produced several method books that are still widely used by brass students to this day.

In 1893, he ed John Philip Sousa’s Band as a cornet soloist. After playing at the Chicago World's Fair in the same year, he left to play with various other bands, continuing to do so over the next five years. During this period, he held temporary positions as second trumpet with the New York Philharmonic, and as principal trumpet in the Metropolitan Opera, for which he temporarily switched to trumpet.

In 1898 he returned to Sousa's Band, with whom he toured extensively, and later became Sousa's assistant director, succeeding Arthur Pryor. After Pryor's departure from Sousa in 1903 to form his own concert band, Clarke conducted Sousa's Band in many recording sessions for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Furthermore, he spent time testing and developing instruments for Conn Instruments in Elkhart, Indiana, and making a considerable number of solo recordings for Victor, Edison, Columbia, and finally Brunswick. He resigned from Sousa's band in September 1917 and returned to Canada to lead the Anglo-Canadian Leather Company Band in Huntsville, Ontario from 1918 to 1923. During this time he performed very little, instead focusing his efforts not only on conducting, but also composition, and setting up his own school of cornet playing in Chicago.