Music major Don Claverie will graduate from the LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts this spring, thirty years after his mother graduated from the very same program in 1995. His academic and professional career provides a glimpse into the benefits that result from the wide range of opportunities and avenues offered by the LMU Music Department.
Claverie chose to follow in his mother’s footsteps and attend LMU because of their shared value of a tight-knit, yet professional and versatile community. “I feel like I’ve really gotten to know every member of the music faculty, even if I’ve never had a class with them, and I love that feeling. My mom and I had our first days of school in the same classroom, and even share some of the same professors,” Claverie shares. This includes expert composer and chair of the LMU Music Department, Dr. Mark Saya. “Dr. Mark has been a huge mentor to me. He truly knows my strengths and weaknesses, and still finds a way to play to both,” Claverie says.
Claverie is pursuing a concentration in Theory and Music Composition. “The concepts of theory and composition are supplementary to each other,” he explains. “What I learned in theory, I can now apply to my own work as a composer.” Claverie studies both the piano and saxophone at LMU. He also plays bass and guitar, and has played clarinet since childhood. “I love the piano because it’s like the ultimate instrument in that it’s its own orchestra. It has everything; it has that percussive sound, it has that smooth sound that people look for, it can do just about anything you need it to do, and that’s what makes it so cool.”
Just as Claverie values versatility in instruments, so does he value versatility in composition. A central influence on Claverie’s composition is the famed composer Johann Sebastian Bach. “He’s been my favorite musician since before I could talk. He’s so cool because he’s dabbled in every genre of his time.” It’s clear Claverie is aiming to have the same genre-versatility as his idol. He is the sole Student Master Drummer of the African Music Ensemble, led by Divine Gbagbo. He has played both piano and saxophone in the Jazz Ensemble – directed by Nicole McCabe – for the entirety of his time at LMU.
“Don is an incredible musician, composer, and takes on a leadership role in the ensemble. I always appreciate his positive attitude and his eagerness to learn,” Professor McCabe reflects. “We are sad that Don will be graduating this year but grateful for his contributions to the ensemble and to the music.”
Claverie’s post-graduation plans include attending graduate school and releasing his debut album. The album will be released May 5th, 2025, a date which hints at one of its songs, “5 to the 5th power. This piece was written for five people, it has a beat per minute of 135, and it’s organized into five-bar phrases. It has five flats in the key signature, and it is in counts of five. “I love telling little stories like this one through music, about all kinds of things,” Claverie notes. “There is such a joy to have in music of all kinds, and in my career, I just want to share a fragment of the joy that it gives me.”
