The Ed W. Clark High School Orchestra

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Clark High School Orchestra program has the largest high school enrollment in the state of Nevada. Our school community believes that the arts are an important component of a complete education. It is the goal of the fine arts department to have every student at Clark High School engage in a fine arts course during their tenure at Clark. The Clark High School Orchestra has a current enrollment of over 400 students. We offer nine sections of orchestra classes at five levels – Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphonic Strings, Concert Strings and Sonata Strings. The Orchestras meet every day in an alternating pattern of large heterogeneous rehearsals and smaller homogeneous sectionals. The orchestra has won numerous awards and accolades at festivals locally and nationally. Many community organizations call on the Clark Orchestra to perform at functions throughout the Las Vegas valley. The orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall with the Clark High School Band in both 2008 and 2012. In 2015 the Clark Orchestra won the Grand National Championship at the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Salt Lake City, UT. Clark Orchestra alumni have attended or currently attend such prestigious universities as the Julliard School of Music, The Manhattan School of Music, The Peabody Conservatory, The Curtis Institute, Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Northwestern and many more colleges and universities. Clark Orchestra students are valedictorians, salutatorians and club presidents. They are involved in every athletic team and are active with the Clark NJROTC program. The Clark High School Orchestra emphasizes the importance of commitment and rigor while encouraging humanistic ideals. Our orchestra is a musical family dedicated to creating life-long relationships between students, music and education.

The Ed W. Clark High School Orchestra

Conductor's Bio

Dr. Chuck Cushinery has been a resident of Nevada since 1997. He holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Masters of Music Education and a Doctorate of Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Prior to entering the teaching profession, Chuck made his living playing violin. He specializes in swing music and has performed in concert with such greats as Stephane Grappelli, Buddy Rich, Larry Coryell and Michael Urbaniak. Chuck currently teaches at Ed W. Clark High School, in Las Vegas, where he has grown the string program from 39 students in 1997 to an enrollment of over 450. In addition he founded the Clark guitar program, which has grown to an enrollment of over 400, and most recently, founded the piano program with an enrollment of over 200. He also currently directs the orchestra at the College of Southern Nevada and is director of the Nevada School of the Arts Chamber Orchestra. His orchestras have continually been rated superior at festivals in Nevada, California, Florida and New York, including three performances in Carnegie Hall. In 2008 Chuck was named Nevada Music Educator of the year by the Kiwanis. He has served as chairman of the Clark County School District Honors Orchestra, Chairman of the Nevada Music Educators Association (NMEA) All-State Orchestra, served as an NMEA Southern Zone Representative, has been on the staff of the National High School Honors Orchestra and has been a member of many committees developing and refining music curriculum and policy for the Clark County School District. Chuck is also on the Board of Directors for Arts Works and is an educational advisor for the Spirit of Harmony Foundation. He has just completed his second term as president of NVASTA and is immediate past-president of the Nevada Music Educators Association, the state affiliate of the National Association for Music Education. Chuck is a two time top ten finalist for the Grammy Music Educator of the year award. In 2015 the Clark Chamber Orchestra won the Grand National Orchestra Championship at the ASTA Conference in Salt Lake City.