MACC presents Cliburn Piano Competition finalist Clayton Stephenson in concert Feb. 28

Tickets are now on sale for Clayton Stephenson’s Maui debut concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, where the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finalist will perform on Friday, Feb. 28, at the MACC’s Castle Theater.

Growing up in New York City, Clayton Stephenson found musical inspiration in community programs. As he describes it, the “Third Street Music School jump-started my music education; the Young People’s Choir taught me phrasing and voicing; Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program introduced me to formal and rigorous piano training, which enabled me to get into Juilliard Pre-College; the Morningside Music Bridge validated my talent and elevated my self-confidence; the Boy’s Club of New York exposed me to jazz; and the Lang Lang Foundation brought me to stages worldwide and transformed me from a piano student to a young artist.”

Clayton graduated from the Harvard-New England Conservatory dual degree program in spring 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard and a master’s degree in piano performance at the Harvard-New England Conservatory under Wha Kyung Byun.

In addition to being the first Black finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022—where he was hailed for his “extraordinary narrative and poetic gifts” and interpretations that are “fresh, incisive and characterfully alive” (Gramophone)—he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2024, won the inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition in 2023, and is a 2025 Sphinx Medal of Excellence honoree.

Recent and upcoming highlights include concertos with the Houston, North Carolina, and Cincinnati Symphonies; festival appearances at Grand Teton, Grant Park, and Tippet Rise; recitals at Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center, Foundation Louis Vuitton, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; gala performances with the New York and Las Vegas Philharmonics; and collaborations with violinists Nikki and Timothy Chooi. He also joined the Hartford Symphony Orchestra as 2024–2025 Artist-in-Residence.

For the MACC concert, Stephenson is scheduled to perform works by Franz Schubert, Igor Stravinsky, Harold Arlen/Keith Jarrett, and George Gershwin. Program is subject to change.

Tickets are for sale at $15, $35 and $50 plus applicable fees online only at MauiArts.org. MACC members receive a ten percent discount. To become a member, patrons may join at MauiArts.org/membership. Tickets for kids 12 and under are half price and there will be UHMC student rush tickets available day of show at the MACC Box Office w/valid ID. The MACC Box Office is not currently open for window sales but for ticketing inquiries only, patrons may email at boxoffice@MauiArts.org.