Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Clay. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Adam, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

Every artistic pursuit I engage in in one way or another revolves around creating experiences of beauty for communities where it may not be expected. I have performed in retirement communities, nature centers, homeless shelters, concert halls, churches and rolling down the street. I hope to pass on the hope that beauty of the highest quality is accessible to all if they are open to being vulnerable, to seeing the world through another person’s perspective. I hope to pierce through any stone that ossifies the hearts of those who refuse to let the light of beauty cast its rays their direction. Any bit of this would be legacy enough.

Adam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My dad being in a contemporary band, and being a song-writer/singer/guitarist, I was around music from the very beginning. I discovered classical music through a CD at the public library. It amazes me that something so beautiful from hundreds of years ago could be preserved and I could then discover it through my interest in piano. Being an outsider to the world of classical music, this sense of discovery has always been my mission – bringing people experiences of this rare beauty, and making it accessible to them – but ultimately – to move another person with music – it is the ultimate goal. I create beauty in its many forms – composing, performing, directing – its all aimed at moving audiences.

I am fascinated with musical experiences that place us at the edge of our comfort zones, but are also too profound to ignore. Music that is painfully beautiful – this is true passionate music making, and I think it has real merit that is too often overlooked. We are united, at times, in the shared suffering we have as humanity – music can present this in a safe and powerful way.

As a performer I study performances that have moved me so and hope to pass that legacy forward in my playing. As a composer I hope to craft music that has immediate impact to the listener, while is equally profound upon probing its depths. And I do believe that music has the power to reach across cultural divides – when has this ever been more needed than currently?

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Personal invitation has always been the most effective for me. The goal with music is to have an audience. I think we can loose sight of that as musicians – you are making music for real people, and that connection is so crucial to me. Its less of a “strategy” or even “technique” for me than it is a part of my mission. If you are making music, you do it to connect with other human beings; to move them; to make them think and feel and have impact upon them. So I would say that communicating with my audience one on one, never rushing away from an audience member who wishes to visit with me, and still making time to connect with them personally has been not only most effective in growing my audience, but most rewarding as well. Sure, I can send out invitations on Facebook, send marketing emails, but a phone call goes much further. A conversation after a concert is much more rewarding for me and my audience.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It sounds very simple, but I would say the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is seeing your creations come to life. As a composer there is nothing more thrilling than hearing something you conceived in your mind become realized. It is as if a dream could be manifested and your audience could inhabit it. It’s very vulnerable, it’s stressful at times, even terrifying – this is all the more reason I am interested in it. And then having a conversation with those people about their experience of what you have presented them – this is extremely rewarding to me – especially when they are willing to truly consider their experience and share something about it that impacted them. I believe this mutual impact is very crucial to my form of art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artsmove.net
• Instagram: @artsmove
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamvincentclay
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com › adam-vincent-clay-aa06a747
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/houstonnewarts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/houstonnewartsmovement

Image Credits
Pin Lim and Michael Stratigakis