Richard St. Clair

Richard St. Clair (born September 21, 1946) is an American composer, pedagogue, and pianist.

St. Clair is descended from both Franco-Scottish roots (see Clan Sinclair) on his father's side, and Norwegian-Swedish roots on his mother's side. It is believed his paternal ancestors emigrated from the British Isles to New England in the 17th century as part of the colonization of the New World. His maternal ancestors emigrated from Norway and Sweden to the American Upper Midwest (in particular, Minnesota) in the latter part of the 19th century along with many other Scandinavians who settled there at that time.

St. Clair was born in Jamestown, North Dakota. The following year his family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, a larger city with much greater musical and cultural opportunities than his birthplace. The musical environs of Grand Forks served as the foundation for his life in music. The city boasted its own symphony orchestra, a major university with an active music department, a concert series featuring prominent soloists, and a school system that emphasized music education. For years he sang in both the Centralian concert chorus of his high school (Grand Forks Central High School) and the sanctuary choir of the church (First Presbyterian) which he attended as a child and adolescent. He also sang in the Choral Union, a collaboration between the University of North Dakota and the Grand Forks community.

Music ran through his family. His maternal grandfather was a band conductor who played and taught many different instruments, and his maternal grandmother was a piano teacher. His paternal grandmother was a gifted pianist. His father, Foster York St. Clair (1905–1994) – a Harvard-educated English literature scholar, university professor and poet – and his mother, Elna Ruth Bogen St. Clair (1912–1974) – a business college teacher – were both amateur musicians and classical music-lovers. St. Clair from a very early age fell in love with the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, which were played in his home on fragile 78-rpm records. At age 4 he began taking piano lessons. By age 16 he was already writing music, mainly for chorus and organ.

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