Clark Cranfill is the new choir director and guitar teacher at Henry Clay. This is Cranfill’s 25th year of teaching. He has spent the majority of his 25 years teaching at LCA.

“At this point I’ve taught pretty much every music class that exists,” Cranfill said. “Whether it’s band, orchestra, jazz band, percussion ensemble, guitar, or chorus.” 

Cranfill went to University of Kentucky to get his bachelors in music education, and later attended Asbury University to get his masters in media and communications. Cranfill has always known that he wanted to have a job centered around his passion for music.

“I knew I wanted it to be music,” Cranfill said. “I did different things to try and pursue music professionally for a while which went pretty good, it just wasn’t steady enough for my lifestyle.” 

On his own time, Cranfill enjoys spending time with his family and friends as much as he can. 

“I have some buddies I like to hang out with,” Cranfill said, “and I go to church on Sunday.”

Playing guitar before the bell with a few of his students, Ethan Boyd and Marin Pamukov, is something that Cranfill enjoys. He says it starts the day better for everyone- the students, the teachers, the guitarists, and anyone passing by.

“My favorite thing about Henry Clay is the students,” Cranfill said. “This morning we got to play guitar in the hall before school started. They’re always so enthusiastic about what we are doing.” 

Cranfill works hard to ensure that his curriculum is beneficial and enjoyable for everyone.

“I’ve learned to listen to students over the years, ” Cranfill said. “You certainly have to teach what they need to know, but also care about what they care about.”