Silver Star Honorees
Clayton Reilly BM ’06 (Instrumental Performance), MAT ’21 (Music Education) 2023 Silver Star Outstanding Alumni Awardee
Clayton Reilly BM ’06 (Instrumental Performance), MAT ’21 (Music Education) has built an accomplished career in the music industry. A trumpet player, he spent five years touring and playing with John Legend. He also penned the singer’s hit song “Tonight (Best You Ever Had),” which went multiplatinum after spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and earned him Soul Train’s Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award and a Grammy nomination. In total, he has been nominated for Grammys three times for his production, vocal arrangement, and songwriting work with Ledisi and Miguel.
Reilly returned to UArts to obtain his Master’s in Music Education. Today, he works as a music educator in the Bethlehem Area School District in Pennsylvania. When he’s not teaching, Reilly continues to work as a studio musician, solo artist, producer and collaborator
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION WHEN YOU FOUND OUT YOU RECEIVED THE SILVER STAR OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD?
The notice came in an envelope in the mail, and at first I thought it was some kind of bill. When I opened it, I was surprised and honored to see that it was actually an award. There is no better feeling than being acknowledged by your university.
YOU CAME TO CAMPUS TO ACCEPT THE SILVER STAR HONOR DURING COMMENCEMENT. HOW DID IT FEEL TO BE BACK?
Commencement at UArts is very special. I loved feeling that creative, positive energy again. When I was onstage looking out into the crowd, it felt like I was seeing the future. And I just hope that it was an inspiration to students watching, for them to go out and do amazing things in their field. One of the best parts was knowing people who had won the award before me, like Adam Blackstone ’04 (Instrumental Performance). To be on the same list of award winners as him is just an honor.
YOU’VE GOTTEN MANY AWARDS OVER THE COURSE OF YOUR CAREER. HOW DID THIS ONE FEEL DIFFERENT OR MORE MEANINGFUL?
I would put this one at the top, honestly, because of the journey I was on when I was at school. I was never the top player. I had to work really hard in all the avenues I was pursuing—whether that was playing, producing, or writing—and so this award represents all the blood, sweat, and tears I’ve put into my music over the years.
WHERE WILL YOU KEEP THE AWARD?
My home burned down recently, and we just moved into a new place that we built. I am going to make a special place for it in my recording studio, next to my two diplomas from UArts. I think back to when I played for Corinne Bailey Rae and we were doing Jazz Fest in New Orleans, which included a tribute concert to Fats Domino and was recorded as a live album. And I remember one of the band members saying, “Tonight, we become immortal.” I feel that this award is one of those immortal experiences that will outlive me.
Dotty Attie BFA ’59 (Art Education) 2023 Silver Star Outstanding Alumni Awardee
Dotty Attie BFA ’59 (Art Education) is the rarest of UArts graduates, whose resume includes work in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Gallery in London; membership in the National Academy; and the honor of having a punk band named after her. She has won wide acclaim for her paintings and drawings, and she is also celebrated for her role as one of the founding members of A.I.R. Gallery—one of the first women-owned cooperative art galleries in the country. Attie continues to exhibit her work; she is represented by PPOW Gallery.
WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON YOUR TIME AT UARTS (THEN PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF ART), WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU?
My father had gone to the [Philadelphia Museum] School of Industrial Art [now UArts], which is how I chose it. I wanted to be an illustrator, although my parents wanted me to have something to fall back on, so I studied Art Education. I felt truly comfortable there in a way I had never felt anywhere in my life. I made very good friends, and my best friend today is someone I met at PCA.
HOW DID YOU GO FROM A DEGREE IN ART EDUCATION TO A CAREER AS A WORKING ARTIST?
As I was graduating, my cousin got a teaching fellowship at the Brooklyn Museum, and I thought New York was the place to be. I followed him and started studying at the Brooklyn Museum. By the time I was 24, I was married with two young kids. I was painting, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I took a break and went to look at art. I saw two shows that inspired me—one by Joseph Cornell and one by Marvin Harden. They gave me the idea to make drawings instead of paintings. I started making little drawings, just two inches square, and when I had 10 of them, I framed them and hung them in a grid.
WHAT WAS THE GENESIS OF A.I.R. GALLERY AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN FOUNDING IT?
My husband was a photographer and his assistant, also a photographer, had an artist girlfriend. I showed her my work, and she called me a month later to tell me she had a friend who was starting a gallery. They were looking for other artists to join. At first, I wasn’t really interested, until I found out it was a co-op for women artists—I saw then that it was unique and would get a lot of attention, because no one else was doing that at the time.
HOW HAS YOUR CAREER EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?
Well, 13 years after starting the drawings, I woke up one day and realized I felt like a gerbil. If you’re an artist, the one thing you have is that you do what you love, and if you don’t love it, then it’s not worth it. I went back to painting. I have never cared about trends. Even when I was at school, everyone was into abstract expressionism, but I wasn’t interested in that. You could say I am drawn to more taboo subjects.
WHAT DOES WINNING THE SILVER STAR AWARD MEAN TO YOU?
My four years at PCA were so wonderful. When I heard about the award, I was happy and excited to learn I would be honored by this place that is very dear to me.