About Dale Clark

All Clark reeds are made by Dr. Dale Clark, Adjunct Instructor of Bassoon at Arkansas State University.  Dr. Clark's reed making seminars have been presented at International Double Reed Society Conferences and his articles about reed making have been published in the Double Reed.

Reed Construction Features

  • Clark Bassoon Reeds are made from French and Spanish cane gouged, shaped and profiled in my shop.
  • All reeds are scored and beveled. Reeds are thread wrapped and finished with two coats of Duco cement and one coat of nail polish.  Wrapping will not come off unless you cut it off.
  • Reeds undergo a three-stage finishing process, with drying in-between stages, from blank to finished reed.  The result is a stable, finished, reed.
Dr. Clark is Principal Bassoon of the Delta Symphony, former member of the North Arkansas Symphony, and has appeared as guest Principal Bassoon with the Memphis Symphony and Arkansas Symphony Orchestras.  In 2003 he was Principal Bassoon of the Sewanee Festival Orchestra and bassoon instructor at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.  He is a former member of the Memphis Woodwind Quintet.   Dr. Clark was a guest artist at the 2008 University of Florida-Gainesville Bassoon Day, teaching a class in bassoon reed making.  His principal teachers were Ed Knob, Keith McClelland, Gary Echols and Matthew Ruggiero.

For more information, visit the links below: