Violinist Clayton Hancock joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2024. Hancock has been featured as a soloist across the United States, France, and Germany, and in 2020, he made his professional solo debut with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. He has a rich love of chamber music, and during his final year of study at the New England Conservatory, his string quartet, the Kroma Quartet, won the NEC Honors Ensemble Competition. During his summers, Hancock has had the privilege of studying orchestral and chamber music at music festivals such as the Heifetz International Music Institute, Aspen Music Festival, and Meadowmount School of Music. Hancock began his professional orchestral career in 2023, and he has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, and Arizona MusicFest Festival Orchestra.

Hancock began his violin studies at age four with his father, Steven Hancock, and he continued his violin studies with Christina Castelli from 2012-2020 at the New Jersey Academy of Music. Hancock holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory where he studied under the guidance of Ayano Ninomiya. Frank Almond and Peter Slowik have also been important mentors in his musical development. When he’s not on the stage or in the practice room, Hancock enjoys exploring the outdoors, woodworking, working on his 1965 Mustang, and serving in his local church.