Arts Spotlight: Stephen Clayton (Music)
The hills are alive with talent from CSU’s music program. One remarkable young man who embodies the hard work and discipline of a musician is Stephen Clayton, 21, a senior music performance major. His instrument is the trombone, and he drives himself to excel at the Schwob School of Music.
“Music is the only thing I considered studying when I was deciding which college I wanted to attend,” said Clayton. “The Schwob School of Music has a world-class faculty, a world-renowned facility, easy access to the Atlanta arts community including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, a very good amount of private funding used for student scholarships, and it’s in a beautiful area.”
Practice is an essential part of any music student’s life, and an invariable routine. Stephen put it this way: “I practice 3-6 hours a day (not including rehearsals) every day of the week except Sundays.” When asked what motivates him, he responded, “A lot of the drive of my success and progress as a musician is not about external expectations, but internal ones. I expect myself to deliver at a professional level every time I put the trombone up to my face.”
Day to day life for Stephen revolves around music and his schedule is constantly changing, “But as long as I read my Bible and warm up on the trombone before things get crazy, it will be a good day,” he said. In the mornings he warms up for about an hour and a half; throughout his typical day he has intermittent practice sessions, small ensemble rehearsals, and even more practice in addition to classes and studying.
On top of the workload he does at school, Stephen keeps busy. “I sometimes play with the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham, the Atlanta Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, and I work as a concert manager’s assistant for a lot of the concerts given by students at the Schwob School.”
Stephen, like many music students, also receives individualized lessons, in this case weekly hour-long trombone lessons with Dr. Bradley Palmer, who Stephen attributes as deserving most of the credit for his growth as a trombonist and musician. “He is a master of balance, encouragement and constructive feedback, the intellectual and emotional sides of learning to make music, professionalism, and having fun. He is the man.”
While at the Schwob, Clayton has won competitions, which he again attributes to the resources the Schwob has given him and the mentorship of Dr. Palmer. He won a national solo competition in Washington, D.C., as well as the Southeast Trombone Symposium’s national solo and national orchestral excerpts competitions, both of which have led to a number of professional engagements with the orchestras of Atlanta and Birmingham.
After his time at CSU ends, Stephen hopes to pursue a career as a professional orchestral bass trombonist.
