BRASS/PERCUSSION | COMPOSITION/THEORY | GUITAR/HARP | KEYBOARD Co-Chair | KEYBOARD Co-Chair |
MUSICOLOGY & ETHNOMUSICOLOGY | STRING | VOICE | WOODWIND | PRE-COLLEGE

ALLAN COX Professor of Trumpet
Chair of the Brass and Percussion Department
B.M.E. (Nebraska); M.M. (Wichita State) E-mail

Student of Dennis Schneider and Walter Myers. Additional studies with Vincent Cichowicz, Manny Laureano, Raymond Mase, Mike Sachs, Gerard Schwarz, James Stamp, and James Thompson. Solo appearances with orchestras and bands, including Tokyo Yomiuri, Tokyo Metropolitan, Nagoya and Kagoshima Symphonies in Japan, Taipei City Symphony in Taiwan, Orquestra Sinfonia Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, and Simon Bolivar Orquestra Sinfonia in Caracas, Venezuela; solo recitals, chamber music, performances, workshops and seminars in the United States, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, and Venezuela. Extensive orchestral experience in the South and Midwest. Southern Arts Brass Quintet, 1972-2000. Founder and member, Sonus Brass since 1987. Excellence in Research Award for Performance and Creative Activity (University of Southern Mississippi), 1995. Nominee, International Trumpet Guild President,1995. Sonus Brass recording, "Captured," on Mark Records, 1992. Solo recording "Petite Pieces for Trumpet and Piano," on Mark Records, 2003. Lakeside Music Festival, 1987; Arcady Music Festival, 1990; Highland Music Festival, 2000. Member of faculty: East Carolina University, 1970-72; University of Southern Mississippi, 1972-2000; Musashino Academia Musicae (Tokyo), 1980-82; Sewanee Summer Music Festival, 1985-2001. Students hold professional playing and university teaching positions in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela. Member of the Blair Brass Quintet. Blair School since 1998.

MICHAEL SLAYTON Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition;
Chair of the Composition/Theory Department
B.A. (Lipscomb); M.M., D.M.A. (University of Houston) E-mail

Student of Michael Horvit, Jerome Reed, David Ashley White. Member, American Composers Alliance, College Music Society, South Central Society for Music Theory, BMI. Winner of Louisa Stude Sarofim Composition Award, 2000; MTNA Tennessee Composer of the Year, 2001. Peformances in Chemnitz and Weimar, Germany; the Conservatoire royale de Bruxelles, Belgium; the Operafestival Kristiansund, Kristiansund, Norway; the Festival Internacional de Piano in Aviero, Portugal; the Festival International Albert Roussel in Marquette-lez-Lille, France. Papers/lectures delivered at the Society of Composer's National Conference, Greensboro, NC; Hopewell Valley School-Performing and Visual Arts Division, Princeton, NJ; le Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, Belgium. Publications in The International Alliance for Women in Music Journal. Blair School since 1999.

JOHN JOHNS Associate Professor of Guitar;
Chair of the Guitar and Harp Department
B.M. (Peabody Conservatory); M.S. (Peabody) E-mail

Scholarship student of Aaron Shearer. Performances in solo recitals and chamber music throughout the United States. Syndicated appearances on "A Pride of Guitars" for ABC Television Network; syndicated performances on PBS; solo recitals heard nationwide on National Public Radio's "Concert Guitar". Appearance on French television, Nice. Touring artist, Tennessee Arts Commission, since 1984. New York debut, 1988. Paris debut, 2000. Music and book reviews for Guitar Review, New York. Member of faculty: Peabody Conservatory Preparatory Department, 1968-72; Blair Academy of Music, 1972-76; George Peabody College for Teachers School of Music, 1976-80. Recordings on Mayfield label. Member of Blair Chamber Players. Blair since 1980. John Johns' homepage

KAREN ANN KRIEGER Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy;
Co-Chair of the Keyboard Department
B.A. (Western Illinois); M.Mus. (Illinois) E-mail

Student of William Heiles, Roger Shields, Kenneth Cooper, James Lyke, and Ann Collins. Master classes with Ilana Vered and John Perry. Solo and chamber music performances throughout the United States. Performances with Nashville, Chicago Heights, Columbus (Georgia), Mercer (Atlanta), and LaGrange (Georgia) Symphonies. National concert tours with Neal Ramsay through Columbia Artists, New York. International clinician and performer for Alfred Publishing Company, including workshops in Cyprus, Scotland, England, and British Columbia. Author of two instructional piano books and solo piano compositions published by Alfred, Inc. Adjudicator throughout the South and Midwest. Winner, Liberace Young Artist Keyboard Search, 1980; New York Harpischord Society scholarship, 1987. Biographical citation in International Who's Who of American Women. Former television journalist. Interviews including musicians Billy Joel, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby, and Lyle Lovett; and presidents Carter and Reagan. Recipient of "Addy" award for television documentary. Member of faculty: University of Illinois, 1978; Columbus College (Georgia), 1978-85. Member, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda. Blair School since 1988. Karen Ann Krieger's homepage

ROLAND SCHNELLER Chancellor's Professor of Piano; Senior Artist Teacher of Piano;
Co-chair of the Keyboard Department
B.M. (Mount Union); M.M. (Indiana)

Student of Malcolm Brown, Douglas Lee, Ray Dudley, and Lucien Stark. Recitalist and lecturer, Peabody College Seminar in Piano Teaching, 1969-77. Nashville Area Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, 1985. Tennessee Governors School for the Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, 1990, 1994, 1999. Member of faculty, George Peabody College for Teachers, 1970-74. Chair, Blair Precollegiate Scholarship Program since 1967. Blair School since 1964.

MELANIE LOWE Associate Professor of Musicology; Affiliated Faculty in American Studies and Women's and Gender Studies
Chair of Musicology and Ethnomusicology
A.B. (Smith); M.F.A., Ph.D. (Princeton) E-mail

Publications include Pleasure and Meaning in the Classical Symphony (Indiana University Press, 2007) and articles and reviews in the Journal of Musicology, American Music, Popular Music and Society, Beethoven Forum, the world of music, Popular Music Scenes (Vanderbilt University Press, 2003), and The Cambridge Companion to Haydn (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Lectures and scholarly papers presented throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Numerous awards, including the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (Vanderbilt University, 2001) and the Princeton Graduate Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award (Princeton University, 1993). Member, American Musicological Society, Society for Music Theory, Society for American Music, College Music Society, Society for Eighteenth-Century Music, American Studies Association. Taught classes at Princeton University, 1991-95; Princeton Adult School, 1994; La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia), 1996. Blair School since 1998.

CORNELIA HEARD Professor of Violin
Chair of the String Department
B.M., M.M. (Juilliard); B.A. (Sarah Lawrence) E-mail

Studied with Dorothy DeLay; chamber music studies with Robert Mann, Felix Galimir, Ruth Laredo, Jan DeGaetani and members of the Juilliard and Cleveland Quartets. Chamber music performances include New York's 92nd St. Y., Merkin Hall and Carnegie Recital Hall; Washington's Library of Congress and Kennedy Center. Summer festivals include Chamber Music Northwest, Aspen, Killington, Sewanee, Skaneateles, Sedona, Kapalua, and Roycroft Music Festivals as well as Music Mountain and Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, N.Y. Recordings on Warner Bros., New World, Naxos and Pantheon Records. Appearances on Public Television and National Public Radio. Soloist with the North Carolina Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Vanderbilt Orchestra, Municipal Chamber Orchestra, N.Y.C., and Aspen Brandenburg Ensemble. Member, Board of Directors, Chamber Music America, 1992-99; Vice-President, 1995-99. Adjudicator for regional and national competitions. Students have won and been prize winners in such competitions as MTNA National Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition, Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Montgomery and LaGrange Symphony Concerto Competitions, Curb Records/Nashville Symphony Competition, as well as local and summer festival concerto competitions. Member, Blair String Quartet. Biographical citation in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Member of performance faculty at Sewanee Festival, 1985-99; Killington Music Fesival 2002-04; Aspen Music Festival 2005-07. Blair School since 1982.

JONATHAN A. RETZLAFF Associate Professor of Voice;
Chair of the Voice Department
B.M. (Millikin); M.M. (Wichita State); D.M.A. (Arizona State) E-mail

Student of Marlena Malas and George Gibson. Master classes with Elly Ameling, Gerard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, Samuel Ramey, Graham Johnson, Lois McLeod and Gwendolyn Koldofsky. Solo recital, oratorio and opera performances throughout the United States. New York debut recital, Carnegie Recital Hall, 1986. Recital Series at the National Gallery of Art and Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., the Bechstein Recital Series, Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Community Concert Series under the auspices of Columbia Artists Management. Semifinalist in the Walter W. Naumberg International Vocal Competition and the Elly Ameling International Lied Concours held in The Hague, The Netherlands. Cleveland Institute of Music and Delaware Art Song Festivals. Dr. Retzlaff's students have been admitted into performance programs at the following universities: Manhattan School of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Florida State University, The Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Southern California, Rice University and the University of Maryland at College Park.Member of faculty: Concordia College (Minnesota), 1983/84, 1986-90; Drake University (Iowa), 1990-97, Tennessee Governor's School for the Performing Arts, 1999. Member, Music Teachers National Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda. Blair School since 1997.

CYNTHIA ESTILL Associate Professor of Bassoon;
Chair of the Woodwind Department
B.M. (Indiana); M.M. (Peabody) Additional studies: Oberlin Conservatory and Mozarteum of Salzburg. E-mail

Student of Leonard Sharrow, Milan Turkovic, and Kenneth Moore. Principal bassoon, NashvilleSymphony, 1975-77; Festival der Zukunft, Switzerland. Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, 1977-86. Member of faculty: Aspen Music Festival, Rocky Ridge Music Center (Colorado), Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. Member of Blair Woodwind Quintet. Blair School since 1972.

WILLIAM G. WIGGINS Assistant Professor of Timpani and Percussion;
Coordinator of the Pre-College Program
B.S. (Peabody); M.M. (Northwestern) E-mail

Student of Farrell Morris, Terry Applebaum, George Gaber, and Cloyd Duff. Principal Percussionist, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, 1969-83; Principal Timpanist since 1969. Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra (Wisconsin) since 1970; Scotia Festival (Halifax, Nova Scotia), 1989. Member, Percussive Arts Society since 1970; International Convention Host, 1989, 1996; Board of Directors since 1996. Member of faculty: Sewanee Summer Music Center, 1975-77; George Peabody College, 1977-80; Belmont College; Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, 1985/86; Nashville Institute for the Arts; National High School Music Institute (Northwestern), 1989. Member, Nashville Symphony Association Board of Directors, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, Music Educators National Conference, The National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, Music Teachers National Association, Middle Tennessee Band and Orchestra Association, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Studio recording. Free-lance musician in the Nashville area. Blair School since 1973.