On February 2, 2000, the life of a great Christian organist came to an end. Esma Beth Clark, 74 years old, died after a prolonged struggle with multiple sclerosis.
I was blessed to have studied with Esma Beth during my junior high and senior high school years. I was also blessed to be the organist at the First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, during my last two years of high school where Minister of Music G. Robert Downer encouraged me to audition for the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Esma Beth worked with me to prepare the required audition material. After meeting the legendary Alexander McCurdy and playing for him, he asked who was my teacher. I replied "Esma Beth Clark." He then said, in that unforgettable timbre, "What a teacher!"
Esma Beth was born February 20, 1925, in Nocona, Texas, to Bascom E. and Beulah P. Anderson. She attended the University of Texas in Austin and studied organ under E. William Doty. In 1946 she was the very first student to graduate from that institution with a degree in organ! After marrying Jimmy Clark, who would be her loving husband for 53 years, Esma Beth studied under Palmer Christian and Claire Coci at the University of Michigan.
In 1948 she began a part-time career at Austin's University Presbyterian Church, a position she would hold for 45 years! She also served as children's choir director, as well as the music director when needed. On her retirement Sunday, October 31, 1993, Bruce Todd, then Mayor of Austin, declared that special Sunday to be "Esma Beth Clark" day in Austin. The session of the University Presbyterian Church voted her as Organist Emerita. The Rev. Woody Berry said of Esma Beth, "You have made the organ sing. You have led us with your heart. You have never seen your work as a job, but instead, as a calling to serve God for 45 years."
Esma Beth's retirement was hastened by the loss of sight brought on by multiple sclerosis, which she battled courageously until her death.
Gerre Hancock, Organist and Master of Choristers at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, writes:
Esma Beth was far too modest to realize how profoundly much she meant to legions of her fans and friends! Esma Beth was a musician of legendary prowess and accomplishment, one about whom one heard first from her fabled teacher, E. William Doty. How we admired her! Through the years, in her humble and quiet way, she has encouraged countless other musicians of all ages in pursuing their craft and art. Generous to a fault, Esma Beth heaped blessing upon blessing on so many of us through her unfailing help.
As an undergraduate student at The University of Texas in Austin, I got to know her and her devoted husband, Jimmy. They constituted an extraordinary pair, living out their Christian lives of commitment with exemplary dedication to their colleagues.
Our gratitude for Esma Beth only seemed to grow with each passing year. We are deeply, deeply grateful for her and her life and her example. All hail!
Betty R. Pursley, Minister of Music at the United Church of Marco Island, Florida, writes of Esma Beth:
Her greatest gift to me was channeling my natural ability and love for music into a methodical, disciplined approach. She was my role model. Mrs. Clark's great devotion to both the church and her musical work were very positive influences during my adolescence.
A service of Remembrance and Celebration was held on Sunday, February 27, 2000, at the University Presbyterian Church, in Austin. The new III/47 Garland Pipe Organ was used. The harp stop and the chimes were memorial gifts given in Esma Beth's memory. Special piano music was played by William Chapman Nyaho. The congregational hymns were "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Nicaea), "Take My Life and Let It Be" (Hendon), and "To God Be The Glory." Choral music included "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place" by Johannes Brahms; "Shall We Gather At The River" arranged by Hal Hopson (Carroll Gonzo, choir director; Faythe Freese, accompanist); "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" by Peter Lutkin (directed by Cheryl Clark Crews, daughter); several secular choral selections by the GBATTS (Getting Better All The Time Singers); and a hymn medley: "Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound," "There's Something About That Name," "Jesus Loves Me," and "All The Way My Savior Leads Me" (Mary Ann Parker, soprano, and Carol Koock, accompanist). Organ music was "Fugue in E-Flat," (St. Anne) by J.S. Bach; a choral prelude on "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms" featuring the memorial harp stop and chimes punctuating Esma Beth's initials E, B, A, C; "Unforgettable" by Irving Gordon; and "Toccata" from Symphony No. 5 by Widor (David Spicer, organist).
The eulogy was given by the Rev. James P. Crews (son-in-law), reflections and a blessing by the Rev. Jimmy Earl Clark (son), and "the family says thanks" by Jeff Clark (son). Other participants were the Rev. San Williams, Minister at the University Presbyterian Church; the Rev. Larry Bethune, Minister of the University Baptist Church; cousin Rev. Dr. Jase Jones, as well as local radio/television personality and family friend Cactus Pryor. The capacity crowd gave a fitting tribute to the life of this wonderful woman.
I, like Betty Pursley, can reflect on Esma Beth's pedagogical skills, and two things stand out: her faith and commitment to serving Jesus Christ through her music, which spilled over into her teaching, and her insistence that music must be played with feeling.
Her death was on February 2, which is recognized by those who follow the liturgical calendar as Candlemas, celebrating Christ as the true Light of the world. What a fitting day for a Christian musician to enter eternal life and to experience first hand, Christ the Light of the world!
Esma Beth Anderson Clark is survived by her husband, J.E. "Jimmy" Clark; daughters, Cheryl Crews and husband, Jim, of Japan, Kerre Shipp and husband, David, of Raleigh, North Carolina; sons, Jimmy E. Clark and wife, Kay, of Bonham, Texas, Jeffrey B. Clark and wife, Teresa, of Austin; brothers and sister-in-law, James E. Anderson and Julia of Arlington, Texas, Thomas W. Anderson and Norma Jean of Austin, Texas, David E. Anderson and Susanna of Bangor, Maine, and Kenneth D. Anderson and Linda of Houston; eight grandchildren, Clark and Chris Crews, Lori and David Shipp Jr., Wesley and Kelley Clark, Kevin and Jamie Clark.
Soli Deo Gloria! Her works do follow after her.
David Spicer is Minister of Music at the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut and is a co-founder of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival in the USA. He also is on the music faculty of Central Connecticut State University, and is House Organist at Hartford'sBushnell Memorial. He attended Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and The Curtis Institute of Music. Early musical instruction was from his parents as well as from Florence Castle. His early instruction in organ was from his father, David Spicer, Sr., Donald Firnhaber, Henri Pantillone, Eleanor Page, and Esma Beth Clark.
