Noted musicologist Walter Clark came to the University of California, Riverside in 2003 with two primary goals in mind: to create an emphasis on Latin American music in the program here and to help develop a doctoral program in musicology, ethnomusicology, and composition. Thirteen years later he is still at UCR, now serving as Chair of the Music Department, having accomplished those initial goals and so much more.

In 2004, Clark established the internationally recognized Center for Iberian and Latin American Music, the only of its kind in the world, that serves as a major destination for research and performance. He has served as the center’s director since its inception which now boasts a team of eleven faculty members, a refereed online journal, and a concert series. The creation of a graduate program at UCR in this area of study was also led by Clark and is now flourishing with nearly forty students from throughout the world pursuing their doctorates here.

From the beginning of his tenure at UCR, Clark has also been an avid collaborator with the library and has played an instrumental role in helping to develop our archival holdings pertaining to Iberia and Latin America. As a result, our collections contain materials that are attracting the interest and attention of scholars throughout the Americas and Spain. This includes the papers of Joaquín Nin-Culmell and The Romeros as well as the only surviving manuscript of Enrique Granados’ Spanish opera María del Carmen and one-of-a-kind, non-commercial sound recordings of major flamenco artists from Spain recorded by local flamenco-guitar virtuoso Ted McKown

Clark’s contributions to the university and the library have been considerable and it is safe to assume that there will be a few more things added to this list before his time at UCR comes to a close.