Bio — Anjoli M. Clayton
Anjoli Michelle Clayton ("AnjiViolin") is a Recording Academy / GRAMMY® Member, award-winning violinist, educator, arts entrepreneur, and Founder & Artistic Director of I, Muse, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of the arts to inspire creativity, foster belonging, and strengthen communities. Through performances that blend technical artistry with compelling storytelling, she creates meaningful musical experiences that connect people across generations, abilities, and backgrounds.
Inspired by Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker as a young child, Anjoli began a lifelong pursuit of artistic excellence that has taken her from acclaimed training programs to distinguished concert halls across the United States. She studied Violin and Orchestral Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory before graduating with Highest Honors from Berklee College of Music, where she was selected as a GRAMMY U® Member in 2021.
In 2026, she was invited to join the Recording Academy as a GRAMMY® Member, reflecting her continued contributions to the music profession.
Her artistic training includes the Levine School of Music, Encore School for Strings, Meadowmount School of Music, the Juilliard Starling-Delay Symposium, Encore Festival & School for Strings, and Shenandoah Conservatory Summer Festival. She was selected as a 2019 SphinxConnect: Leaders Rising Fellow through the Sphinx Organization and later joined musicians from around the world in the global LOVE Project 2020, performing in the world's largest virtual orchestral recording of Mozart's Magic Flute Overture. Throughout her career, she has performed in masterclasses for renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Chang, Mark O'Connor, and Michelle Kim.
Anjoli has appeared at premier venues including the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Hall, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, and Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Her orchestral career includes performances with the Baltimore Symphony, Symphonicity, and the Northern Neck Orchestra. During Symphonicity's 2022–23 season, she performed alongside GRAMMY Award–winning guitarist D.J. Sparr in his original composition Vim: Hocket, Calm.
A passionate chamber musician and recording artist, Anjoli has premiered and performed contemporary works, including Joseph Umstead's Sounds of Love for marimba and violin, and has contributed to numerous collaborative recording projects. Her performance can be heard on Jae Sinnett's Live at the Sandler with Symphonicity, recipient of a 2023 VEER Music Award, and on Irish recording artist Sarah Croker's debut album Meet the Day. Additional career highlights include performing the featured violin solo in Colonial Williamsburg's A Holiday Medley at the Hennage Auditorium and the iconic violin solo from The Who's "Baba O'Riley" during an East Coast tour with the Tender Pollman Band.
Beyond the concert stage, Anjoli is redefining what it means to be an artist in the 21st century. Through I, Muse, she develops innovative artistic programs that unite professional musicians with underserved and overlooked communities, creating experiences where creativity becomes a catalyst for healing, inclusion, education, and human connection. Her work reflects a simple but powerful belief: that when people are inspired to create, they discover not only the arts; but the best within themselves.