‘Beyond words.’ Symphony musician’s murder leaves hole in NW classical music scene
Musicians across the Mid-Columbia remember Clayton “Clay” Wick’s sunny disposition and dedication to classical music.
For decades, Wick played the double bass in the Mid-Columbia and Walla Walla symphonies.
“There is much we can say about Clay, but so much of what we feel is beyond words,” the Mid-Columbia Symphony said in a written statement. “He was a friend and role model to musicians and musical students everywhere he played.”
Wick, 76, was found murdered inside his Buchanan Street home last week. His alleged killer, Christopher Calvert, 44, of Hermiston, is facing one count of first-degree murder in Benton County Superior Court for what investigators suspect was a revenge killing.
The bass player grew up in Minnesota, graduating from the University of Minnesota in Duluth after studying chemistry. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Wick came to Hanford in 1974.
He joined the Mid-Columbia Symphony around that time and became one of its most esteemed and beloved musicians.
His passion for classical music was infectious, said Yaacov Bergman, the music director and conductor for the Walla Walla Symphony. Wick spent two decades working with Bergman.
“He was very positive, very accommodating and was a good friend to anybody who chose to know him,” Bergman said. “He was a very likable human being.”
He also was dedicated to often technical classical music, the Mid-Columbia Symphony said. Friends remembered him writing music on graph paper in music class.
Bergman remembered him as a great collaborator who was dedicated and willing to put in the work needed for a great performance.
He said Wick had a genuine love for what he was doing.
It was a love that kept him performing for about five decades.
Most recently he performed with the Willow Creek Orchestra in Hermiston on April 14, just weeks before his death.
He also performed across the Northwest including with the Washington-Idaho Symphony, Leavenworth Summer Musical Theatre, Mid-Columbia Musical Theatre and Oregon East Symphony.
He worked in both small church music groups, small ensembles and large orchestras equally well, the Mid-Columbia Symphony wrote.
His death left a hole in the musical landscape across the Northwest, fellow musician Becky Aarestad Miller said.
“His reliable playing and his kind, cheerful demeanor were emblematic of what orchestras are all about,” she said about him in a Facebook post.
Her sentiments were echoed by dozens of others who said he would be missed.
His love of music also inspired others, the Mid-Columbia Symphony wrote. He loved teaching others to play the bass and some of his students went on to become professionals with orchestras.
While he was demanding of himself, he was understanding with his students, according to the symphony statement.
“Our own musicians remember his professionalism and steadfast commitment to the orchestras he graced, and we will miss his humor and friendship,” the symphony statement said.
“Clay’s legacy is all the music played by all the musicians he helped, and all that it expresses for us when words are not enough.”