Clarinetist, composer, educator, and new music collaborator Luke Ellard strives for art that continually reaches out, valuing a relational spirit, informed engagement, and unapologetic authenticity.

For Luke, collaboration is what gives music life. As clarinetist, they have performed with members of Bang On a Can All Stars, Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble, Fifth House Ensemble, Arkansas Symphony, and Lone Star Wind Orchestra. Their current performance projects center around their self-produced solo cross-genre/electronic band LE, and commissioning new exciting works for the clarinet.

Their collaborative spirit is reflected in their life as a composer as well, drawing inspiration from a personal and communicative place. Their music has been performed by groups such as New Trombone Collective (Blue Interjections, finalist in the 2013 Slide Factory International Composition Contest), the North Texas Wind Symphony (The Seer, concerto for Bassoon and Wind Ensemble), HOCKET (someone else’s days, #What2020SoundsLike), the University of Texas Symphony Band (Shifting Tides), Michigan State University Concert Band, Barkada Quartet (threads of execution), the Mother Falcon String Quartet (all I’m feeling right now, winner of Golden Hornet Composer Lab’s String Quartet Smackdown III), and in collaboration with cellist Nick Photinos (haven’t yet, Bang on a Can Summer Festival).

Dr. Ellard joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Fall of 2023 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Clarinet, having previously served on faculty at the University of Oklahoma and Midwestern State University while teaching privately and performing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Luke earned their Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance with related studies in Contemporary Music and Music Entrepreneurship at the University of North Texas, studying under Kimberly Cole Luevano. Additionally, Luke has earned degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (James Campbell & Eric Hoeprich), the University of Texas at Austin (Yevgeniy Sharlat, Dan Welcher, & Donald Grantham), and Louisiana Tech University (Lawrence Gibbs, Joe L. Alexander).