[1] When she participated in the Ennis Composition Summer School in 1985 she was introduced to the music of continental composers such as Luciano Berio and Witold Lutoslawski, which left a lasting impression.
Clarke has received commissions from RTÉ, the Cork International Choral Festival, Concorde, Music Network and the National Concert Hall, among others.
Since the early 1990s she has been exploring the possibilities of electro-acoustic music, winning an award at the 1992 Dublin Film Festival for her electronic score Whaling Afloat and Ashore.
Her recent orchestral score SHIFT reflects her experiences in electro-acoustic processes: "Extended techniques, deliberately avoided in previous work, are embraced here using harmonics and noise elements in strings, and bowed, timbral effects on percussion.
In a single, fifteen-minute movement, transformations in colour and texture vary from slow and intense in the opening section, to sudden and harsh later in the piece.