7:30pm – Clayton Stephenson

American pianist Clayton Stephenson’s love for music is immediately apparent in his
joyous charisma onstage, expressive power, and natural ease at the instrument. Hailed for
“extraordinary narrative and poetic gifts” and interpretations that are “fresh, incisive
and characterfully alive” (Gramophone), he is committed to making an impact on the
world through his music-making.

Growing up in New York City, Clayton started piano lessons at age 7, and the next year was
accepted into The Julliard School’s Music Advancement Program—a full scholarship
program for under-represented students—where he lingered to watch student recitals and
fell in love with music. He advanced to Juilliard’s elite Pre-College at age 10—with the help
of his teacher at the time, Beth Nam, who gave him countless extra lessons without
charge—to study with Matti Raekallio, Hung-Kuang Chen, and Ernest Barretta. Clayton
practiced on a synthesizer at home until he found an old upright piano on the street that an
elementary school had thrown away; that would become his practice piano for the next six
years, until the Lang Lang Foundation donated a new piano to him when he was 17.
He credits the generous support of community programs with providing him musical
inspiration and resources along the way. As he describes it, the “Third Street Music School
jump-started my music education; the Young People’s Choir taught me phrasing and
voicing; Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program introduced me to formal and rigorous
piano training, which enabled me to get into Juilliard Pre-College; the Morningside Music
Bridge validated my talent and elevated my self-confidence; the Boy’s Club of New York
exposed me to jazz; and the Lang Lang Foundation brought me to stages worldwide and
transformed me from a piano student to a young artist.”

Recent and upcoming highlights include concertos with the Houston, North Carolina, and
Cincinnati Symphonies; festival appearances at Grand Teton, Grant Park, and Tippet Rise;
recitals at Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center, Fondation Louis Vuitton,
and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; gala performances with the New York and Las
Vegas Philharmonics; and collaborations with violinists Nikki and Timothy Chooi. He also
joins the Hartford Symphony Orchestra as 2024–2025 Artist-in-Residence.