MOREHEAD CITY — Ever wonder what “Amazing Grace” would sound like with a mix of jazz or a touch of the blues?
This weekend, Kinston musician Clay Whittington will present his unique talent of taking classic hymns and creating his own improvisational style of music.
Hope Mission and Cape Lookout High School invites audiences to a benefit concert featuring the “Hymnprov” music of Whittington on March 3 at 7 p.m. at The Morehead Center in Morehead City. Whittington is well-known in Carteret County for his work with the Carteret Community Theater as the pianist for the 2011 show “Broadway at Its Best.”
Whittington’s “Hymnprov” is a series of hymns selected from the United Methodist Hymnal done in his own improvisational piano performance with styles ranging from classical to jazz and blues to rock. No part of the performance is rehearsed and “sheet music” is only used as a guide to the melody.
Hymns are previously selected, but only to aid in a smooth performance. The performance is divided into four parts: Wesleyan hymns, spirituals, contemporary hymns, and traditional hymns.
A Kinston native, Whittington began music lessons at age 8 with piano and continued with guitar, trombone, baritone, mandolin and the organ.
“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t playing, although it’s not something that necessarily ran in my family,” he said. “I took piano lessons for a few years from the time I was 8 to 12 and after that I learned theory and technical skills on my own. It just makes sense in my head.”
Whittington has provided his talents to various United Methodist Churches for more than 10 years. He currently serves as choir director at Camp Ground United Methodist Church in Fayetteville and as organist for Temple B’nai Sholem in New Bern.
“Out of all the styles and any way I’ve performed I’ve done church music more than anything else,” Whittington said. “I’ve learned the hymnal like the back of my hand; when you hear it over and over again it gets old and you have to rework so it sounds new again. That’s where I get the idea to improvise on them.”
When he’s not lifting spirits during Sunday morning services, Whittington enjoys performing for concerts at churches or theatres. For his upcoming performance, he will create new melodies for a few of his favorite hymns, including “Amazing Grace,” “I want Jesus to Walk with Me,” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.”
“For this particular concert, I’ve chose specific songs for that show and I don’t decide how I’m going to perform until I hit the first note,” Whittington said. “I’m literally recreating the song as I play it.”
Whittington said that he would eventually like to perform in a concert with a combination of jazz musicians, but now for now he is enjoying and constantly improving his solo acts.
“When I’m not on the piano, I’m playing guitar or mandolin — for me it’s music 24 hours a day,” Whittington said. “It’s my life, my hobby and my work.”
For more information, visit claywhittington.me.
Want to go?
Kinston’s Clay Whittington will perform on Sunday at 7 p.m. at The Morehead Center, 1311 Arendell St. in Morehead City. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased by calling 252-726-1501 or online at themoreheadcenter.com.