Trey Clegg

b. 1970

Trey Clegg is one of the country’s young talents in the field of organ performance, and is active as a recitalist, accompanist, vocal coach, and free-lance artist. His playing is widely recognized for it’s clarity, excitement, and expressiveness. The American Organist writes, “Demonstrating precision and a superabundance of energy, it was obvious this young man would go very far.”

Hailed for his versatile abilities to play, sing, and conduct in a variety of genres, he is the Organist/Choirmaster at the historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta (the second largest Episcopal Church with a historically African American congregation in the United States). African American composer Sharon J. Willis has written three organ pieces on commission for Mr. Clegg: We Shall Overcome (a four-movement programmatic suite based on the Civil Rights Movement); Exodus (a three-movement work based on the life of Harriet Tubman); and Memorial to the Victims of 9/11 (a three-movement work memorializing the victims of the 9/11 tragedy).

He frequently performs solo organ recitals across the United States and Europe. Mr. Clegg made his European debut in December of 2003 with concerts throughout Germany. The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes, “He pulls out all the stops, and the righteous sound born in a box of wood fills every dark corner of the elegantly gloomy 1908 sanctuary. It’s like the soundtrack for the first dawn.” His skill at organ performance has won him two first prizes – the 1991 Midwest United States Division of the Music Teachers National Association Young Organists Competition and the 1993 Region VII Division of the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, sponsored by the American Guild of Organists.

As a budding young recitalist, he performed a concert at the 1993 Region VII convention of the American Guild of Organists, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a keyboard clinician and accompanist for various conferences, he is in great demand for his ability to perform equally well in a variety of styles. As a new composer, Mr. Clegg has written organ music published by Morningstar Music and Augsburg Fortress.

He graduated with the Bachelor of Music degree (Cum Laude) from Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, studied toward the Master of Sacred Music degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas, and earned the Master of Music degree from Emory University School of Music in Atlanta, Georgia. His teachers have included Susan Baker, Dr. Albert Travis, and Dr. Timothy Albrecht. He taught and performed as the sabbatical replacement for the University Organist at Emory University during the 2000-2001 academic year.

Trey has released three solo compact discs and one compact disc of organ and trumpet music in collaboration with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra trumpet player Larry Black. His organ performances have been heard on National Public Radio and FM 90.1. His organ concert schedule in 2005 carried him to the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest regions of the United States as well as European countries including England, Switzerland, Russia, and Romania. His conducting schedule with his St. Paul’s Choir in 2005-06 carried him to the Southeast and Northeast regions of the United States, as well as the Bahamas.