Kacy Clopton

About Kacy

Described by The Washington Post as "Poised, polished, and passionate," Kacy Clopton has captivated audiences all over the world. She holds a Graduate Diploma and Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from the School of Music at the University of Maryland. Clopton has collaborated with famed conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen and given several attention-grabbing performances of his newest works for cello. When giving the Boston premiere of Salonen's Mania, a demanding work for cello and orchestra, the Boston Globe described Clopton as a "superb soloist." On the opposite coast, the San Francisco Chronicle pronounced her a "true virtuoso," in her West-coast premieres of several of Salonen's works in an evening dedicated to this celebrated composer. She won the Strings Concerto Competition at NEC in 2010 and had the honor of performing Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante in Jordan Hall under the baton of Hugh Wolff. Clopton has been most active as a chamber musician in her professional life. She was the founding cellist of Excelsa Quartet. Formed in 2009 while studying together at New England Conservatory, they went on to work closely with the Alban Berg Quartet at the Hochschule K̦ln in Germany for two years. While studying there, they won several international prizes including the Prix du Public at the Illzach Competition, First Prize and Grand Prize at the Charles Hennen Competition (now the Orlando Competition) in the Netherlands, among others. In 2012, Excelsa Quartet returned to the United States and shortly thereafter the quartet was appointed as the Graduate Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland. They returned to Europe in 2015 as finalists in the renowned Franz Schubert & Modern Music Competition. Clopton is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the UMD School of Music. She has played with many notable ensembles in the DC area including the National Symphony Orchestra, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, and Inscape Chamber Ensemble. Clopton is thrilled to have joined the Jacksonville Symphony this season, having won the position of Associate Principal Cello.