[1] After graduating from high school in 1966, Clarey went to Howard University in Washington, D.C. to study music.
[1] Clarey made her debut with the American Opera Center singing the role of Pamina in Mozart's Magic Flute.
She worked professionally as a chorister in New York City for a time, singing for shows like Carmina Burana and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company's Revelations.
[1] In these early years as an African-American performer, Clarey recalls incidents of racial prejudice, including a time when a director wanted to remove a black chorister from a scene because "she did not look authentic to Mozart.
[2] In 1984 Clarey made her European operatic debut singing in L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Festival.
She expressed respect and admiration for early African-American opera singer Ruby Elzy, who originated the role in 1935 with a demanding weekly performance schedule.
[5] Clarey is featured on a recording of the Glyndenbourne cast of Porgy and Bess, with Simon Rattle conducting the London Philharmonic.