Cliburn Finalist to perform

Pianist and Cliburn Finalist Clayton Stephenson to perform at the School of Music April 4, 7:30 p.m. in Comstock Hall
Cliburn Finalist to perform

American pianist and 2022 Cliburn finalist 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” by Gramophone, he is committed to making an impact on the world through his music making. 

“We’re extremely excited to present Cliburn Finalist Clayton Stephenson at the School of Music, where he will be in residence for a solo recital on April 4th and then a master class with our piano students the following day”, said Teresa Reed, Dean of the School of Music. “Comstock Hall is the ideal, intimate venue for outstanding piano events, given our exceptional Hamburg Steinway Concert grand piano and warm acoustics. Clayton’s exceptional musicianship and youthful joy will be one of the most talked about classical music events in Louisville this season.”
Growing up in New York City, Stephenson started piano lessons at age 7 and was accepted into the Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program for underprivileged children the next year. At the age of 10, he advanced to Juilliard’s elite Pre-College program. He practiced on a synthesizer at home until he found an old upright piano on the street which 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.  

Recent and upcoming highlights of Clayton’s burgeoning career include appearances with the Calgary Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Fort Worth, Louisville, Lansing and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras; as well as recitals at the Phillips Collection Concert Series in Washington, DC, Foundation Louis Vuitton Auditorium in Paris, Bad Kissinger Sommer Festival and BeethovenFest in Germany, Colour of Music Festival, Ravinia Festival and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has been featured on NPR, WUOL, and WQXR, and appeared in the “GRAMMY® Salute to Classical Music” Concert at Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium.

Stephenson now studies in the Harvard-NEC Dual Degree Program, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard and a master’s degree in piano performance at the New England Conservatory under Wha Kyung Byun. In addition to being the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022, Stephenson was a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, a 2022 Gilmore Young Artist, 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. He also received a jury discretionary award at the 2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival.

Clayton’s appearance is sponsored through a generous gift by Dr. James and Mitzie Wittliff. For more information, visit Clayton’s website here.

Free parking in the School of Music parking lot.