Zana Clarke is an Australian composer. She studied recorder with Ruth Wilkinson and Hans Dieter Michatz and violin with Anne Martoni and Marco Van Pagge, and began to play in youth orchestras at age 12. She graduated from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin and Classics and a Bachelor of Arts in Music.

In 1991 Clarke moved to Armidale, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, and completed a teaching degree. She taught violin and recorder in her own studio, and also lectured at the University of New England

University of New England (Australia)

The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....

. She founded the youth recorder ensemble Batalla Famossa, and performed with the ensembles Weird Sisters from 1991–97 and Cantigas from 1995, recording a number of CDs.

Clarke became the founding director of Orpheus Music which publishes a Young Composer Series and commissions and publishes new works by Australian composers for recorder.

Works

Clarke composes mainly for recorder, incorporating Medieval and Middle Eastern sounds and experimental techniques including vocalized recorder. Selected works include:

• Dreams Inside the Air Tunnel
• Ariel View of the Boarder Bridge for vocalized recorder
• Cold Honey for solo tenor recorder
• Mind your Step for 2 guitars