Robert Edward Thies is an artist renowned for his consummate musicianship and poetic temperament. He first captured worldwide attention in 1995 when he won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2002, Thies earned national recognition for his collaboration with Joseph Horowitz, in the Pacific Symphony's Dvorák in America festival.

Thies enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in the United States and abroad. His concerto repertoire includes over thirty-five works, spanning 200 years. He has appeared with such orchestras as the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Liepaja Symphony (Latvia), Mexico City Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Mexico, Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand), Fort Worth Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic. Thies has performed at the music festivals of Ravinia, Aspen, Sedona, Breckenridge, Savannah Onstage, Cape May, and Music Academy of the West.

A dedicated chamber musician, Thies continues to expand his already impressive repertoire and collaborates with many esteemed ensembles such as the Blair String Quartet and the New Hollywood String Quartet. Thies has also worked and recorded with many of the top studio musicians, ranging from film composer Lalo Schifrin, to jazz artist David Benoit, to the Grammy-winning Angeles String Quartet. Thies's recordings include the Schubert "Trout" Quintet with members of the LA Phil, Brahms and Beethoven sonatas with cellist Cécilia Tsan, and the Dohnányi Sextet with hornist Richard Todd, clarinetist Gary Gray and members of the New Hollywood String Quartet.
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Gerald William Clayton attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He received a Spotlight Award in the category of jazz instrumental music and was named Outstanding Soloist - Piano at the 31st Annual High School Competition. He was also named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2002.

Gerald started taking piano lessons when he was six years old and studied classical piano with Mrs. Linda Buck for 11 years. Gerald participated in classical piano competitions and performed in a variety of settings throughout his elementary and high school years.

Although interested in classical music, Gerald's first love is jazz. He has studied with jazz pianists Donald Vega, and Shelley Berg, and is currently studying with Kenny Barron. Gerald has had the opportunity to listen to and learn from a variety of jazz artists, most notably pianist Benny Green. In the summer of 1999, 2000 and 2001, he attended the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop in Port Townsend, Washington and the Vail Jazz Workshop in the summer of 2002.

During his three years as a student at LACHSA many performance and learning opportunities presented themselves. Gerald was a member of the LACHSA Jazz Combo and the LACHSA Jazz Big Band, with which he opened the 2000 and 2001 Playboy Jazz Festivals. He also accompanied the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and performed with this group at the Monterey Jazz Festival in three consecutive years. In the summer of 1999 and 2000, he performed with the Latin Jazz Student All Star Band at the California Plaza and at the Greek Theatre. In June of 2002, Gerald performed at Steinway Hall in New York and was presented with a $15,000 scholarship award by the Music for Youth Foundation. In August 2002 he was given the opportunity to perform a composition for piano and orchestra with the Henri Mancini Orchestra at Royce Hall. The piece was composed by his father, bassist and composer John Clayton. Gerald received the Shelley Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society in September of 2002.

Professional musician John Clayton and classical piano teacher Linda Buck, have had the most significant influence on Gerald's development as a jazz keyboardist.

Jazz pianist Gerald Clayton, exhibits a surprising maturity and seasoning for such a young age. From a mean montuno, to graceful accompaniment and creatively flowing solos, he pours out a lot of pianistic eloquence!
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