Joseph Clark
Bio
Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, in the U.S., Joseph Clark is a musician based in Pretoria, South Africa. He left his ballet career in New York and Salt Lake City when the PACT Ballet company relocated him to South Africa. He later moved to musical theatre and acting and won numerous awards for singing, dancing and acting. This saw him getting a contract as a dancer, actor and singer. The contract prompted him to stay in South Africa.
Some of his highlights in musical theatre include the role of Buddy in The Buddy Holly Story, Riff/Bernardo in West Side Story, El Gallo opposite pop star Jason Donovan in The Fantasticks, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, the narrator in Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Anthony in Sweeney Todd and Whizzer in March Of The Falsettos/Falsettoland. In 2000, he was nominated as best actor in the solo comedy, The Male Intellect.
Clark has toured Europe and Southern Africa for over twenty years. He is noted for performing every song in the original key. Although his signature sound has been the music of Freddie Mercury, he has a repertoire of over 500 songs available.
He is well-known for his powerful interpretation of Queen’s music since 1990 when he appeared as lead vocalist in the successful production Queen At The Opera.
In 2002, he, along with fellow Queen At The Opera soloist, Luciano Zuppa, performed with the JPO (Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra) at the Sandton Convention Centre, The Durban Playhouse Theatre (with the KZNPO), the Spier Festival (with the CPO) and at the Feather Market Centre in Port Elizabeth (with the ECPO). In 2004, he toured Italy and Germany.
In September 2009 and 2010, he shared lead vocals with Syb van der Ploeg and Ellen Evers in 13 concerts of Symphonic Queen throughout the Netherlands. From 27 September to 1 October 2011, he performed the music of Queen with his band at The Madinat Jumeirah Theatre in Dubai. On 18 November 2011, he and his band performed to over 30 000 people in The Gelredome Soccer Stadium in Arnhem, The Netherlands. In December 2011, a three week run of the theatre version of The Queen Experience followed in The Hague and at The Rai Theatre, in Amsterdam.
In 2008, he did two performances in Hamburg of African Crossing, a vibrant production with a 12-piece cast featuring the Gaabo Motho Tenors, soprano Yollandi Nortjie and the Amakhono We Sintu Traditional Dancers.
With his extensive ballet and musical theatre background, he mainly does corporate entertainment in South Africa and overseas. He enjoys singing with major symphony orchestras all over. He also does voice overs and jingles for cinema, radio and television. He had the honour to sing for the later Nelson Mandela at his 85th Birthday Celebration.