Clayton Vaughn is an accomplished cellist and dedicated cello teacher who is committed to helping his students find beautiful tone, technical ease, and artistic expression through the relationship between their instrument and natural body mechanics. He is an active teacher who works with students from Washington, DC and surrounding areas. While living in Colorado, he was a founding member and Music Director of the adult cello ensemble the Boulder Cello Project, and ran cello sectionals at Fairview High School. During that time, Clayton was also the cello Teaching Assistant for Judith Glyde and James Brody, as well as a faculty member at the Parlando School for the Arts.
Clayton is avid orchestral and chamber musician who is a member of the President's Own United States Marine Band. Before joining the Marine Chamber Orchestra, he spent four years in the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra. When Clayton lived in Colorado, he also performed regularly as a member of the Walden Chamber Music Society in Salida, Colorado. Past orchestral positions include principal cellist of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, section cello of the Omaha, Fort Collins, and Greeley symphony orchestras, and substitute cello with the Colorado Symphony and Colorado Ballet. Clayton has also participated in many of the nation's top music festivals including Tanglewood, Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, Meadowmount, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Clayton is avid orchestral and chamber musician who is a member of the President's Own United States Marine Band. Before joining the Marine Chamber Orchestra, he spent four years in the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra. When Clayton lived in Colorado, he also performed regularly as a member of the Walden Chamber Music Society in Salida, Colorado. Past orchestral positions include principal cellist of the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, section cello of the Omaha, Fort Collins, and Greeley symphony orchestras, and substitute cello with the Colorado Symphony and Colorado Ballet. Clayton has also participated in many of the nation's top music festivals including Tanglewood, Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, Meadowmount, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
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Clayton was born in Mississippi where he began studying the cello at the age of ten with local teacher Debbie Gum. Soon after, Clayton began private studies with Paul York, who was then teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), and spent most of his high school summers studying with Mr. York at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Sewanee, TN.
When Paul York left USM, Clayton spent the next two years studying with Dieter Wulfhorst and Alexander Russakovsky, both of whom taught at USM. During that time he was also a member of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra and Tupelo Symphony Orchestra. After graduating from high school, Clayton enrolled at the University of Louisville to continue studying under Paul York. Soon after moving to Louisville, Clayton was exposed to Jazz for the first time and fell in love! Unfortunately he did not have an interest in playing Jazz cello, so during his sophomore year he began studying Jazz Double Bass with Tyrone Wheeler to satisfy his desire to play this newly discovered genre of music. He has worked with Jazz greats such as David Baker, Rufus Reid, Jamey Aebersold, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Tyrone Wheeler, and currently continues to work and record as a freelance double bassist. |
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After graduating from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Humanities, he went on to earn a Masters of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Dr. Melissa Kraut and Stephen Geber. During this time he was also a member of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra.
Clayton received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in cello performance at the University of Colorado Boulder, and studied with both Judith Glyde and András Fejér of the award winning Takács Quartet. Dr. Vaughn enjoys pursuing a career that is well-rounded and widely varied, including orchestral performance, chamber music performance, private teaching, sectional coaching, studio recording, and extensive freelancing. Currently, Clayton plays on the 200th cello made by renowned American luthier, William Whedbee (Chicago, Illinois) and uses a bow made by Ron Forrester (New York, NY). |
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