Clay Whittington is a conductor, tenor vocalist, and pianist from Kinston, North Carolina. He serves as Director of Music Ministries for Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona while moonlighting as a pianist and entertainer for the Gaslight Theatre. Clay maintains an active solo performance calendar which has included work with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pebble Beach Resorts, SalesForce, Fairmont Hotels, and Carnival Cruise Line.
Clay is currently in pursuit of his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the University of Arizona, studying under Dr. Elizabeth Schauer. Here, he serves as Assistant Condtor and Collaborative Pianist for the University of Arizona Treble Glee. He received his Bachelor of Music magna cum laude with a concentration in Sacred Music (Vocal/Choral) from East Carolina University (Greenville, NC), studying with Prof. John Kramar, Dr. James Franklin, and Prof. Andrew Scanlon. During his undergraduate studies, Clay performed with East Carolina University Opera Theatre and the internationally renowned East Carolina University Chamber Singers. He was inducted into the Beta Zeta Chapter of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Clay recieved his Associate in Fine Arts in Music from Lenoir Community College (Kinston, NC).
As a chorister, Clay has worked with the Helios Ensemble, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Washington National Cathedral and the Carmel Bach Festival. He has performed under the direction of Dr. Benjamin Hansen, Dr. Marcela Molina, Maestro José Luis Gomez, Michael McCarthy, Simon Carrington, Dr. Andrew Megill, and Maestro Paul Goodwin.
Clay has served as the principal musician for churches in the United Methodist and Episcopal traditions for much of the last two decades. In these roles, he has conducted choral and instrumental ensembles in North Carolina, California, and Arizona. Outside of regular worship services, he has lead music and worship at the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Diocesan Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, and the Diocesan Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina.
Clay is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the Presbyterian Association of Musicians.