Clayton Stephenson
Lauren Martinez
September 6, 2016
Multitalented pianist Clayton Stephenson is setting the bar high for
young musicians to follow. The New York native’s gift for composing
classical music was discovered when he was eight-years-old. He’s been
recognized nationally with countless accolades ever since.
Stephenson was a finalist in the 2016 Cooper International Piano
Competition, the proud recipient of the Jury Discretionary Award at the
2015 Van Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition, the Jack Kent
Cooke scholarship and Young Scholars of the Lang Lang International
Music Foundation.
The talented musician has also had the pleasure of performing for the
Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Morningside Music Bridge
Festival in Canada, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Midwest
Young Artists Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, Chicago & Millennium
Park Pritzker Pavilion and more.
Stephenson mentions his most monumental accomplish is his acceptance
into his dream school. “I made history as the first African American
pianist to get into Juilliard pre-college and the first person to
transition from the math program directly to the Juilliard pre-college
program so that was a very big statement for me,” he says. Stephenson
was admitted at the age of 10.
He is currently rehearsing rigorously to perform for a third
consecutive year at the prestigious Chicago Sinfonietta for its new
season of ‘Unhinged’ piano virtuosos September 17 to 19, 2016 at the historic Symphony Center.
What is the most exciting part about playing this piece?
Well, it’s difference from a lot of the other pieces you might play
at a classical concert. It’s, of course, Gershwin, so it’s a little bit
jazzy. Also, the variations make it very interesting because you have a
lot of different characteristics to bring out in the performance.
How do you spend your day? How often do you practice piano?
I think for me, my day-to-day is very busy. I start my day with school
just like everyone else then I go until the afternoon. Afterward, I will
practice for about three hours. I commute one hour each way to go to
school. I go to Dalton, which is a very rigorous private school. When I
go home, if I have any time remaining I will try to relax a little bit
for 30 minutes after doing homework.
Do you have free time to spare on the weekends?
Well, for weekends, I go to the Juilliard Pre-College division so that
takes up my entire Saturday. I go all the way from nine in the morning
to about seven o’clock at night completely for music.
Have you created any of your own music?
I have, but not too much. As you see, I don’t have that much time to do a
lot of different things but I think for me classical music is almost
like creating your own music because even though everybody is playing
the same thing over again what is so special about it is that you have
to add your own little touch to make it different. For me, it’s kind of
like you are the composer creating that piece.
What inspires and motivates to keep going because you have a really aggressive schedule?
The first person who really inspired me when I was very young was Lang
Lang. He was doing a book signing at Juilliard and when I went there he
seemed to make piano so much fun instead of like a chore to do which a
lot of people regard it as. I think I kind of took the idea from him and
I started to think of the piano as something that I had to work hard on
but something that I could look forward to and enjoy.
How has your mother helped you with pursuing your passion?
My mom, I can say she is like the general. She schedules everything and
scouts out the information needed before we go somewhere or go to a
performance. I am kind of like the doer. I practice the piano and go to
school. I try to get everything as good as possible. My mom is really
the one who is planning everything.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
In the next five years, I really want to be a well-rounded pianist
especially with going to Dalton and Juilliard. I feel academics and arts
both coincide and help each other. I don’t want to focus just on piano
and not anything else. I want to learn a wide variety of skills which
can help advance my piano, But, also enhance my music. So, I can think
better and use that to know how to practice well and just have a greater
intellect.
Is there any piece that you can’t play or have a goal to learn?
For now, I have to say that my technique isn’t as great as I want it to
be. Yes, there are some technical pieces that I can’t play. One of them
is Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.” That one is based on his ballet and is very
hard because it is technically difficult even though it sounds easy. I
like it but I think I’ll have to wait a few years before I can play it.
What made you want to play the piano at a young age?
My dad bought a lot of piano related things so I naturally gravitated
toward the piano. It was so interesting because it can imitate all
different types of instruments and it’s so grand as well. I didn’t
really have a piano at home until I was about 16. I just thought it was
different than the rest.
Do you like any other genres of music where the piano can be heard?
I do like different genres of music. As stated with the piece I am
playing of Gershwin I like jazz as well. But, I also listen to popular
music and rap music. I just try to listen to anything that I can.
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