Finding harmony in the humanities

Evan Dwinnell's Clemson experience has been a music-filled one.

Describing Denver native Evan Dwinnell as modest undersells how unassumingly skillful a songwriter and musician he truly is.

He's the lead singer of "Take Two," a six-piece rock band that jams in downtown Clemson dives, and played at the inaugural Clemson Music Fest. Dwinnell is the trumpeter in the University Jazz Band, a singer in the co-ed a capella group "Dynamix" and had the opportunity to play jazz piano inside the President's House.

Dwinnell's self-produced silky rendition of Bart Howard's "Fly Me to the Moon" is on streaming platforms. The performing arts major with a concentration in audio technology recorded the soundtrack used by the Clemson Players in its spring performance of "Little Women" on antique 19th-century pianos.

He's humble about all of it. It's a simple appreciation of music and the creative expression it grants to Dwinnell and others. This is a shared passion with his professors and classmates, one he'll miss as he embarks on a professional career in the arts after graduating in May.

This has been a great experience. I love the campus. It's been incredible and I wouldn't have chosen any other school if I had the chance."

EVAN DWINNELL '24

Clemson Football leads to Tiger Band

A common love of football with his father piqued Dwinnell's curiosity about coming to Tigertown. He remembers asking his dad on January 9, 2017, who the Alabama Crimson Tide were playing against in the national championship game.

"I started looking into the school, came on a tour and loved it," he says. "I did an audio boot camp one summer and spent a week on campus living in a residence hall to see what the program was like. It helped me get a foot in the door and I was awarded an awesome recruitment scholarship."

Over the last four years, Dwinnell has had an up-close view of games in Memorial Stadium. He's played trumpet in Tiger Band and traveled to Orlando, Florida, and Syracuse, New York, for contests on the gridiron. Dwinnell also performed the national anthem in Littlejohn Coliseum, and at home baseball and softball games.

Dwinnell performs the national anthem in Littlejohn Coliseum on February 8, 2022.

"It was just an amazing experience being in Tiger Band," Dwinnell says. "It was fun to go with friends and experience away trips."

Learning a little bit of everything

The Performing Arts department prioritizes getting students out of their comfort zone so they can build their network and learn new skills. That means those with audio backgrounds like Dwinnell are exposed to other concentrations, like theatre.

Dwinnell served as the sound designer for Clemson's production of "Little Women" for his senior capstone project. With the help of Professor of Music Linda Li-Bleuel, Dwinnell was joined by nine students in Greenville's Sigal Music Museum to record more than an hour of music from an 1826 Scherr square piano and an 1863 Erarad grand piano.

Footage courtesy of Greenville's Sigal Music Museum.

"I wanted to make it the most immersive experience I could," he says. "I could have recorded some modern piano, and the audience probably wouldn't have noticed. I wanted to make sure that it sounded as realistic as possible for that Civil War period. I think it was really cool."

As he waits to hear back on job and internship applications, Dwinnell knows the connections he's built at Clemson will pay off.

"I love the people here and always will," he says. "I'm so thankful for my family, friends and professors for their endless support."

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