Clayton Hare (July 13, 1909 – December 11, 2001) was a Canadian music teacher, [1] conductor, and violinist. He was the third principal conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and taught at a number of universities including Mount Allison University, the University of Portland, and Mount Royal College.
Hare was born in Ontario. [2] He studied violin with Austrian immigrant Géza de Kresz . [3]
As a young man Hare performed as a concert violinist. [4]
Hare joined the music department at Mount Allison University in Sackville New Brunswick, and took over the direction of the Mount Allison College Symphony Orchestra in 1945. [2] In 1949 he founded the Calgary Symphony Orchestra, composed largely of musicians from the Mount Allison music program. [5] The Symphony played a mix of contemporary and classical music. [6] Hare continued to conduct the orchestra for a number of years, [7] while teaching string and orchestral classes at Mount Royal College. He and his wife, pianist Dorothy Swetnam (a survivor of the Halifax Explosion), performed concerts as a duet. [8]
Hare later taught music at the University of Portland. [9] While there he wrote music reviews for the Portland Reporter newspaper. [10]