The American Hemisphere
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December 6, 2025
7:30 pm
Hudson High School
69 Brigham Street, Hudson, MA 01749
December 7, 2025
3:00 pm
Mill Pond School
6 Olde Hickory Path Westborough, MA 01581
About the concert
There will be a preconcert talk 45 minutes before the start of the performance
“The overshadowing spirit of kindness and justice in the Hemisphere” is the title of the fourth movement of American composer William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 5. It is it with the hope that we move towards that vision that SPM embarks on its five-concert tribute to America’s 250 th . The African-American Still is considered the first composer to create a truly American classical music sound with his heartfelt melodies, lively rhythms, and descriptive tone painting. Along with SPM’s first performance of a Still piece are two beloved works by Johannes Brahms, the stirring “Tragic Overture” and the iconic 2nd Piano Concerto, often cited as one of the five greatest piano concertos ever written.
Joining SPM to perform this life-affirming work is major young American Pianist Clayton Stephenson, hailed for his “extraordinary narrative and poetic gifts” and interpretations that are “fresh, incisive and characterfully alive” by Gramophone Magazine.
Program
Program
Clayton Stephenson
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 disadvantaged students—where he lingered to watch student recitals and fell in love with music. Clayton practiced on a synthesizer at home until he found an old upright piano on the street. For the next six years that would be his practice piano, until, at the age of 17, he received a new piano from the Lang Lang Foundation.
Clayton Stephenson graduated from the Harvard-New England Conservatory (NEC) dual degree program in spring 2023 with a BA in economics from Harvard and a Masters degree in piano performance from NEC under Wha Kyung Byun. In addition to being the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022, he has been a recipient of a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, won the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition in 2024 and received a Sphinx Medal of Excellence in 2025.
To learn more about Clayton's story, visit claytonstephenson.com
