Lifetime Fellow

Laura Clayton, composer, Hancock

Laura Clayton was born in Lexington, Kentucky and began compositional studies with Darius Milhaud at the Aspen Music School. After receiving a Master of Music in Composition from the New England Conservatory, she traveled to Brazil where she lived, worked, and collaborated with other musicians. When she returned to the U.S., she continued her studies at the University of Michigan where she received her Doctorate of Musical Arts. In 1980, Clayton was one of two composers whose works were chosen to represent the United States at the International Rostrum of Composers. That same year she received the Charles Ives Award given by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. She has been a MacDowell Fellow, has received the Walter B. Hinrichsen Award, as well as grants from the Jerome Foundation, the University of Michigan, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

Last updated: February 12, 2015