President, Artistic Director & Founder of Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy

McClara is a graduate of California State University Sacramento, former Principal Bassist of the California State University Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, McClara graduated bachelor of music performance, spring 2010 and is continued working on his masters program at the college of music at CSUS.  Mr. McClara has been actively teaching private lessons for over 20 years, and is director of Sacramento Preparatory Music Academy, where he teaches a very nice sized string studio of wonderful students, and conducts the “SPMA String Ensemble,” for beginning and intermediate string students who do not have access to perform in a public school ensemble due to cut backs to music and the arts.

Recently, and in the past McClara has performed with: The Lake Tahoe String Orchestra at the Lake Tahoe Music Festival 2010 & 2013,  The Sierra Masters Choral in Grass Valley, The CSUS One O’ Clock Jazz Band, CSUS Opera Orchestra, The Camellia Symphony Orchestra, South San Francisco Opera Theater Company, UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, Redding Symphony, UC Davis Concert Band, ARC Symphony, ARC Big Band, Ron Cunha Big Band, Filibuster, Compadre, Larry’s Lounge Lizards, Off Tha Wagon, Free4Sale, The Downtown Jazz Trio, The Ben McClara Band, ARC Lab Band Combo, CSUS Night Band, The Ocelots, Los Gallos, and BlueSpoon.  McClara has shared the stage with great artists such as Artie Shaw, Peter Erskine, Mat Marucci, Steve Homan, Joe Gilman, and Bobby Shew, and enjoys performing for Broadway musicals.

 

 

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