When Clifton Williams began taking piano lessons at the age of nine, there was never any typical resistance.  He didn’t look longingly at his friends out the window, shooting hoops.  He didn’t complain about the tedium of scales.  “I always loved it,” he says, and perhaps this complete dedication to his art is what helped him achieve success.

Clifton knew early on that he wanted to better himself as a pianist.  “I wanted to do what was best for me—and [Ellington] was the school.”  Now a junior, he enjoys the many different types of people who attend, and recognizes the benefits of the broad artistic and academic exposure he receives at Ellington.  “My teachers are great,” he says.  “They take time out of their busy schedules to help us, and I really appreciate that.”

Clifton practices three hours a day.  He won first place in the 2007 DC Public School Piano Competition in classical, and in 2008, he won first place in the jazz genre of the same competition.  After winning the regional Omega Psi Phi fraternity annual talent hunt, he traveled to Philadelphia as a national finalist.  He is constantly responding to a steady stream of performance requests.  He recently applied to perform on From the Top, a show on National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that celebrates America’s most talented virtuosos.

Asked which musical genre is his favorite, Clifton claims he loves them all: “Latin, Caribbean, classical, jazz—I like to be open.  There’s something to be learned from everything,” he says.

Clifton has lofty aspirations: he hopes to attend college at Yale University, majoring in music, and he’s considering pursuing a doctorate in music.  He plans to be a professional musician, but perhaps most important is his desire to be well-rounded.  “I want to be good at it all,” he says.   “If people want me to play jazz, I’ll play jazz.  If they want to hear classical, I want to do that, too.”