Esther Clayton, viola

Meet Esther

Esther performs on Show 408.

Esther Clayton (viola), 16, hails from Bountiful, Utah. Since learning to play on a “box violin” handed to her when she was 6 by her teacher, Wendy Flanders, she has gone on to study violin and viola with Karen Child, lead the Utah All-state Junior High Orchestra viola section for three consecutive years, place second in the 2018 Utah ASTA State Solo Competition, and place first in the 2019 Weber State University Stringfest Competition. Additionally, in 2021, she attended the Sphinx Performance Academy at The Juilliard School, where she had lessons with Dana Kelley and Paul Laraia and played in a masterclass with Carol Rodland; she also became a From the Top fellow. Balancing music and life’s other activities has always been a challenge, but Esther has found that music has not left any area of her life untouched, heightening her understanding of dance, Mandarin Chinese, and even math. Music has always been a place of solace for Esther, and she hopes that her music will provide the same for her future audiences.