Featured Composer: Peyton Clifford

Peyton Clifford’s varied musical interests have taken him down widely diverging paths, from ambient soundscapes to bluegrass banjo, from rock songs to experimental film scores. To each of these pursuits, Peyton brings his characteristic sensitivity and keen social conscience.

Peyton grew up in Charlotte, NC, where he was exposed to everything from 19^thcentury opera to punk rock.  He learned to play piano, guitar, banjo, bass, mountain dulcimer, melodica and cello; and he sang in choral ensembles from a young age. “I definitely owe a lot of the breadth of my musical exposure to my family. I got the classical side from my mom- a classically-trained soprano- the rock and roll side from my dad- an audio engineer in New York during the 70s and 80s- and some of the more punk and emo stuff from my older brother. But by high school, I was going down all these rabbit holes just out of my own curiosity- I got really into folk and jazz, and by my first year of college I was super into ambient music. I think all those influences come up in unexpected ways now. Even if I wanted to, I could never push any of those styles out from the back of my mind.”

Since coming to UNCSA, he has made great use of the proximity between art forms at this school, working with choreographers and filmmakers especially.  He’s also continued to explore concerns about current events through his work.  “I am a firm believer in music,” he says, “as both a political/social tool and a basic human necessity.”  In his second year, the UNCSA String Orchestra premiered his "This Feels Like the End," a powerful evocation of catastrophe.  Last year, he created several film scores, including a score for the experimental film "Abraham and Zarathustra."  He also spent time working with the late Bruno Louchouarn on cognitive science, composition, and effective collaboration. This year he is working on a piece for the Attacca String Quartet, as well as a commissioned installation for Old Salem’s "Hidden Town," an exploration of the region’s complicated biracial past.

Peyton brings his interest in connecting art and society to his work with UNCSA's ArtistCorps, through which he helps K-12 students around Winston-Salem learn about music.

To see a sample score of Peyton's music, click on the image below:

For a sound sample of Peyton's music, visit the following: