Q&A: The man who brought London the Aeolian Hall and El Sistema retires
CBC
It's the end of an era at Aeolian Hall as Clark Bryan, the artist and executive director of the hall, is retiring.
Bryan bought the iconic London venue in 2004, and he's been around for a lot of shows and a lot of changes. Clark joined London Morning host Andrew Brown to talk about his legacy and what's next for him.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Andrew Brown: Congratulations on your retirement. How are you feeling about it?
Clark Bryan: Well, of course, I have some remorse over leaving the kids behind in our free after-school music program, but I'm excited about the next chapters in my life. I have a lot of creative projects that I want to do, and I will continue to support the mission of Aeolian Hall as much as I can.
AB: Take me back to 2004 when you took over. What was the hall like back then?
CB: It was mostly unused and looking very tired—needed a ton of renovations. It started looking like home because I moved in!
AB: You lived there?
CB: Oh, yeah. My husband and I lived there until 2011. We got married and finally bought a house. It was a bit like a hippie commune—you'd leave your living unit door open, and sometimes famous artists would accidentally walk in while you were coming out of the shower with no clothes on. That really did happen!
AB: A famous person? You don't have to answer that.
CB: Oh, I'll tell you—it was Carol Welsman. We're great friends now.
AB: That's great. I love that you lived there. Why did you get involved? What drew you to the place?
CB: I come from a family of educators, and I've been involved as a musician, concert pianist, and educator for a long time. I actually started teaching when I was 13. I thought I could create a community school. We had lost Western Conservatory on Windermere Road, where I'd been involved in curriculum development. I felt I could do a better job—that was the arrogant me in 2004. I had no idea what I was doing, though.
LISTEN | Clark Bryan is retiring from Aeolian Hall:
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