AROUND THE CORNER: Robert Allen, A life shaped by the arts

By Cara Pridemore

For Robert Allen, the arts aren’t just a career; they make life worth living. A lifelong Clinton resident, Allen, 45, is the fine arts director for the Clinton Public School District and as the Clinton High School Attaché Show Choir pit director.

“Every single day, every person in the world takes part in something artistic, as a way to enrich their life,” Allen said. “Whether it be listening to music on their way to work on the radio or anything else.”

Allen began his musical journey in the Clinton Junior High School band as a trumpet player. He continued playing all the way through high school, performing for the marching band, concert band, jazz band and Attaché Show Choir pit.

After graduating from Clinton High School (CHS) in 1998, Allen intended to pursue a career as a record producer or artist manager at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
However, realizing the volatility of the industry with the rise of streaming services, Allen returned to Clinton, graduating from Mississippi College (MC) with a music education degree in 2005.

While at MC, Allen taught CHS band and show choir classes, performed at various gigs, such as musicals and wedding receptions, and played for MC’s band as a trumpet player.
“MC’s band hall was the old Clinton Junior High band hall, which was surreal for me, because that’s where I started learning to play the trumpet, and then I went back to that band hall in college,” Allen said.

Right after graduation, Allen married his high school sweetheart, Layne Winegarden, a Mississippi State University alum, and moved to Fairhope, Alabama. The two share a long history together, with Layne’s mother teaching him sixth-grade science at Lovett Elementary School.

“We officially met in high school, when I was a trumpet player in Attaché, and she was in the stage crew,” Allen said. “We met through a mutual friend, and we’ve dated ever since.”
In Alabama, Allen served as Fairhope High School’s band director for four years, while completing his master’s in music education at Auburn University. During this time, their daughter, Caroline Allen, currently a CHS senior, was born, prompting the family to move back to Clinton.

“I spent a little bit of time out of state, but everybody in our family lives here in Clinton, and we think it’s a great place to raise our family,” Allen said, emphasizing his love for the easily travelable and small-town quality of Clinton.

Since moving back, Allen has worked at CHS, teaching music theory, music production, music appreciation and general music class, and directing with the Attaché Show Choir for ten years. He briefly worked at Hinds Community College for four years but returned to the public schools after hearing about the district’s newly-created fine arts director role.

“There was an athletic director to guide all of our athletic coaches,” Allen said. “They give that expertise for what type of coaches we need to hire, and they guide those programs. So, the music, the arts, choir, visual arts, theater have the same needs.” To fill the role, Allen completed an education specialist degree in administration at MC.

Under Allen, the district’s K-12 art program and junior high and high school show choir programs have thrived.

“We have over five hundred students participating in a performing art at a high school level right now,” Allen said. “Then, when you add the students who are participating in the visual arts, it’s almost two thirds of students.”

Allen says he is proud of Clinton’s reputable arts-based education and hopes to continue providing students with the same experiences he had during high school.

“I’m very thankful for my education here, and I wanted to give back to the schools,” Allen said. “I want to keep music and art a part of student’s lives, because it’s something they can enjoy forever.”