In Afghanistan, Clayton Allen was an Army medic at a field hospital in Bagram, treating soldiers who had been maimed or wounded in combat. To unwind, Allen, a violinist, would play classical music from his tent, the tunes at times competing with the sounds of exploding bombs in the distance to fill the night sky.
Today, Allen is the orchestra conductor for one of Virginia’s largest student music programs at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Fairfax County. There he oversees seven orchestras and 330 musicians from seventh to 12th grade.
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