MELISSA ROSE Associate Professor of Piano;
Co-Chair of the Keyboard Department
B.M. (West Chester University); M.M. (Yale); D.M.A. (Michigan) E-mail

Student of Martin Katz, Donald Currier, and Vladimir Sokoloff. Coaching with Margo Garrett, Geoffrey Parsons, Seymour Lipkin, Gary Graffman, Claude Frank. Collaborative performances in chamber music and song recital settings throughout the United States and in Argentina and Russia. Opera coaching, master classes, and lectures nationally. Featured on radio broadcasts in Russia, New York City, Iowa, Kansas, and Nashville. Pianist for numerous new music premieres and composer residencies. Pianist, Summerfest Chamber Music Series (Kansas City), since 1994, and Arlington Trio, 1990-95. Official accompanist for national competitions. Member of faculty: Interlochen Arts Camp, 1988; Truman State University, 1988-1996. Member, Pi Kappa Lambda. Blair School since 1996.

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. Recipient, Chancellor's Chair, Blair School. Blair School since 1964.

MARTHA BARTLES Senior Adjunct Artist Teacher of Piano
B.M. (Univ.of Miss.), M.F.A ( Ohio University)

Student of Mark Hoffman, Eugene Jennings, James Friskin, Chamber music with Artur Balsam (Kneisel Hall, Blue Hill, Maine). Masterclasses with Ernst von Dohnanyi. Active chamber music recitalist and accompanist, New York City, 1955-69. Faculty, Tennessee Technological University, 1973-77. Resident pianist, Eurythmeum Stuttgart, Germany, 1971-73, 1977-80. Faculty, Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik Stuttgart 1983-97. Tours in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Holland, Canada and United States. Faculty, Paedagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg, 1989-97. Adjudicator, Piano Competition, "Junior Note" Prague, Czech Republic, 1996-99. "Jugend musiziert", Germany, 1983-96. Sewanee Summer Music Center since 1968. Blair School since 1997.

POLLY PURCELL BRECHT Adjunct Instructor in Harpsichord
B.M., M.M. (Indiana); D.M. (Florida State)

Student of Enrica Cavallo Gulli (piano); Clyde B. Holloway and Wilma Jensen (organ); and Clyde B. Holloway and Karyl Louwenaar (harpsichord). Baroque Performance Institute (Oberlin), 1993. Active recitalist and accompanist. Member, Stones River Chamber Players. Artist/Lecturer, Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. Organist/Music Associate, Faith Presbyterian Church (Tallahassee), 1984-89; Organist, Westminster Presbyterian Church (Nashville). Member, American Guild of Organists. Member of faculty: Middle Tennessee State University since 1989; Sewanee Summer Music Center, 1994. Blair School since 1996.

AMY DORFMAN Associate Professor of Piano
B.M., Performer's Certificate, M.M. (Indiana) E-mail

Student of James Tocco and Alfonso Montecino. Additional studies with Rosalyn Tureck at the Banff Centre and Edith Oppens at the Aspen Music Festival. Chamber music coaching with Josef Gingold, Janos Starker, Pierre Fournier, Menachem Pressler, and Walter Roberts. Concerto appearances with Nashville Symphony Orchestra. National Public Radio and TV appearances with bassist Edgar Meyer including Lonesome Pine Special and St. Paul Sunday Morning as well as recitals at Tully Hall and Town Hall in NY and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Guest artist at summer festivals including Sedona Music Festival and Music Mountain in Connecticut with the Blair String Quartet and Mozart Festival in California and Northwest Chamber Music Festival in Oregon with Mr. Meyer. Member of Dorfman/Katahn Duo with pianist Enid Katahn since 1991. Member of Blakemore Trio with violinist Carolyn Huebl and cellist Felix Wang since 2002. Students have attended undergraduate and graduate programs at Indiana University, North Texas State University, Oxford University, University of Oklahoma, and Gnessin Academy in Moscow as well as Aspen, Eastern, Sewanee, IU Piano Academy, and Interlochen. Students have been winners of state division competitions(TMTA), Vanderbilt Concerto Competition, Curb Records(soloist with Nashville Symphony Orchestra). Individual Artist Fellowship Award, TN Arts Commission, 1990. Additional faculty positions at University of the South(1983/84) and Fisk University(1985/86). Blair School since 1984.

ELIZABETH ECKERT Adjunct Artist Teacher of Piano
B.M. (Indiana) E-mail

Student of Jeremy Denk, Evelyne Brancart, Anna Balakerskaia. Winner: ALEX award for the Performing Arts (National Alliance for Excellence, Inc.), Indiana University Piano Concerto Competition. Finalist: National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists' Competition. Soloist: Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, Levine Chamber Orchestra (Washington, D.C.). Performances throughout East Coast and Midwest including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (debut presented by NAE), Kennedy Center Concert Hall (NSO Competition Finals), Smithsonian Institute, Musical Arts Center (Indiana). Teaching posts include Indiana University Young Pianists' Program, 2001-2004. Blair School since 2004.

EDWARD FOOTE Adjunct Instructor of Music
B.F.A. (Louisiana Tech)

Additional studies: New England Institute for Stringed Keyboard Technology. Freelance piano technician for Nashville recording studios, performance venues and homes since 1976. Piano technician for Blair School of Music since 1978. Historical tuning presentations throughout Middle Tennessee since 1993. Blair School since 1997.

KAREN ANN KRIEGER Associate Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy
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

VALERIE MIDDLETON Adjunct Artist Teacher of Piano
E-mail

Piano study with Lewis Hamvas, Peter Amstutz and Paul Parmelee and voice study with Leon Thurman, Stanley Rishoi, Kuniaka Hata and Glenda Maurice. Coached with Claude Frank and John Reed. Ms. Middleton appeared in solo, concerto solo and chamber recitals in the United states, England and Austria in both piano and voice. She has taught piano at Yankton College, the Jenkintown Music School, The Shipley School, Augustana College and St. Paul Academy. She directed award-winning choirs in Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as sang with the Dale Warland symphonic chorus and Concentus Musicus. Ms. Middleton holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Vocal Music Education from Yankton College and a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Blair faculty since 2007.

CRAIG NIES Associate Professor of Piano
B.M. (Curtis); M.M., M.M.A. (Yale); D.Mus.A. (SUNY, Stony Brook) E-mail

Piano studies with Gilbert Kalish, Beveridge Webster, Rudolf Serkin, Claude Frank, Mieczyslaw Horszowski. Coaching with 10 Pulitzer Prize winning composers, including Elliott Carter, Donald Martino, Leon Kirchner, George Perle, Charles Wuorinen. Chamber music coaching with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Budapest Quartets, and performances with members of the Mendelssohn, Franciscan, Alexander, Blair, and New York Woodwind Quintet. Complete works of Debussy for solo piano performed in four recitals and broadcast on NPR. New York performances include Tully Hall (solo debut), Merkin, Kaufman, and Town Hall. Several premiere performances including three in New York City and three works of Blair composer Michael Rose in 2000-2001. Radio and Television in Germany, England and Russia.
During the summer of 2006, Mr. Nies will join the piano faculty of the Brevard Music Center. Previous summer festivals have included Music Mountain (CT), Rutgers Summerfest (NJ), Music '98 (Cincinnati, OH), Summer Serenades at SUNY Stony Brook, Yale at Norfolk (CT), and Highlands (North Carolina/Georgia). The 2000-2001 season included concerto appearances in Canada and the Czech Republic. Recent projects include performances of the complete sonatas for piano and violin/cello of Beethoven (2001-2003), the complete solo works of Rachmaninoff (in progress), and the complete piano sonatas of Mozart and Schubert beginning in the fall of 2003 and Bach's "Goldberg" Variations, with the final concert on Mozart's birthday in January 2006.
Students of Dr. Nies have been winners of the Vanderbilt Concerto Competition eleven of the past twelve years (1995-2006), including three winners in 2004. Since 1996 they have participated in master classes at Blair with Emanuel Ax, Claude Frank, Misha Dichter, Lee Luvisi, Seymour Lipkin, Robert Weirich, Gilbert Kalish, and Menahem Pressler, as well as with Paul Badura-Skoda at the 1998 MTNA National Convention. Two of his Blair majors performed solo recitals in Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall in 2003. Students both attended and have been accepted to graduate study at several major music schools, including Juilliard, Eastman, Cleveland Institute, Michigan, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Mannes, Manhattan and Peabody. Summer music programs including Aspen, Eastern Music Festival, the Van Cliburn Foundation, and Fontainebleau, France. Member of faculty: Yale University School of Music, 1980-1986. Blair School since 1991.

JAMA REAGAN Adjunct Artist Teacher of Piano
B.M. (North Carolina School for the Arts); Diploma (Guildhall School of Music); Diploma (Royal College of Music) E-mail

Student of Robert McDonald, Anne Epperson, Marian Hahn, Benjamin Kaplan, and Eric Larsen. Solo recitals in eastern and southern United States and in England. Member: Fox-Towse Duo, 1989; Clarion Duo, 1991-94. Radio and television appearances, 1988, 1990. Member of faculty: Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Community Music School, 1986; Haddonfield School of Creative and Performing Arts (New Jersey), 1992-97. Private studio, 1987-97. Blair School since 1997.

CARL SMITH Senior Lecturer of Theory and Composition, Organ and
Harpsichord
B.Mus.(Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory) M.Mus.(Washington University) E-mail

Additional studies with Anton Heiller and Gustav Leonhardt. Concerts, workshops, and lectures throughout the United States. Commissions, premieres, and performances in London, New York, Philadelphia, Austin, and St. Louis. Publications of choral, vocal, and instrumental works and articles. Annual concerts in Italy as well as nationally as organist, harpsichordist, conductor. Minister of Music, Delmar Church (St. Louis) 1973-1983; Director of Music and Organist, The Ethical Society of St. Louis, 1983-1985; Organist and Choirmaster, Trinity Presbyterian Church (St. Louis), 1985-1998; Member: American Guild of Organists; IRAS (The Institute for Religion in an Age of Science). Motet "God of Creation" chosen for performance for His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Faculty member, Washington University 1982-1998. Blair School since 1998.

DEANNA WALKER Adjunct Artist Teacher of Piano, Director of Blair Songwriting Program, Coordinator of "Conversations" Series
B.M. (Eastern New Mexico University); M.M. (Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University) E-mail

Student of Morris Cotel, Jean Eichelberger-Ivey, Thom Uchtmann. Co-author of Alfred's Basic Piano Library, Composition Books Levels 1-3. National chair of Music Teachers National Association Composer Commissioning Program, 2003-2005. Independent clinician and speaker at national, division, state and local conventions of Music Teachers National Association. Regular publication of journal articles. Numerous commissions. Family Plot in Four Scenes for soprano and piano chosen for performance at the CMS International Conference in Costa Rica (June 2003); Had national student composition winner (MTNA) in 1998. Blair School since 1998.