Music Faculty
James Fogle, professor of music, has been on the Meredith faculty since 1977. Fogle teaches piano as well as courses in music history and literature. He has degrees from Elon College and UNC-Chapel Hill and maintains a regular performance schedule as a soloist, collaborative pianist and lecture-recitalist. Special repertoire interests include Non-Western music, 20th-century repertoire and music by women composers. As a scholar of music his interests run parallel to his performing interests. He most recently presented a lecture and performance of piano music composed in New York, "It's Got to be Modernistic." He is a member of the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association, the North Carolina Music Teachers Association, the Music Teachers National Association, the American Matthay Society and the College Music Society.
Degrees Held: B.A., Elon College, M.A. and Ph.D., UNC-Chapel Hill.
Courses Taught: Piano, Music Literature, Music History, Music Research
MUS 610 Link to this course.
Contact: 206 Wainwright, (919) 760-8576, FogleJ@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
Listen to an audio clip of Jim Fogle and Jim Clyburn performing Brahms' Sonata in F minor, Op. 34b
Kevin Badanes joined Meredith College in Fall 2008 as Director of Choral Activities.
Audio clips:
- Listen to an audio clip of the Meredith College Chorale singing Randall Thompson's Alleluia
Kent Lyman, professor of music and coordinator of piano instruction, has been on the Meredith faculty since 2000. He is on sabbatical throughout the Fall 2007 semester.
Dr. Lyman has distinguished himself as a soloist and chamber musician throughout much of the United States, South Korea, China and Brazil. He has appeared at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, at the National Conference of the Sonneck Society for American Music, on the Temple Square Concert Series in Salt Lake City, Utah, and on concert series at the College of Charleston, Winthrop University, Francis Marion University and Indiana University in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He has performed as a soloist or duo pianist with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Raleigh Civic Symphony, the North Carolina Governors School East Orchestra, the Broward Symphony Orchestra in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and the Florence Symphony Orchestra in Florence, South Carolina. He has traveled numerous times to South Korea, where he has lectured, performed and given master classes at universities and schools throughout the country. During his sabbatical leave in the fall of 2007, he spent several weeks traveling, teaching and performing extensively throughout South Korea and China. This trip also included a fascinating excursion to North Korea.
Lyman has recorded for the Centaur label, and can be heard on a CD performing chamber works of the late American composer Virgil Thomson. He is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music with the Music Teachers National Association, and has held administrative positions on the boards of state chapters of MTNA in South Carolina and North Carolina.
Dr. Lyman has served previously on the faculties of music at Coker College, Southwest Missouri State University and Western Kentucky University. A native of Utah, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and master's and doctorate from Indiana University in Bloomington, where he studied with renowned pianist James Tocco. He currently resides in Cary, NC, with his wife, Rebecca, and their six children.
Degrees Held: B.M. University of Utah, M.M., and D.M., Indiana University
Courses Taught: Applied piano, piano pedagogy, keyboard harmony, music appreciation
Contact: 205 Wainwright, (919) 760-8124, LymanK@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
- Listen to an audio clip of Dr. Lyman performing Rachmaninoff's Elegie Op. 3
Listen to an audio clip of Margaret Evans, Tom Lohr, Kent Lyman and Angela Stephenson performing Smetana's Rondo in C Major
- Listen to an audio clip of Virginia Hudson and Kent Lyman performing the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
- Listen to an audio clip of Frank Pittman and Kent Lyman performing Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals
W. David Lynch joined the Meredith faculty in 1969 and served as Head of the department through 2007. Currently on sabbatical, upon his return he will continue teaching organ, music appreciation, music literature and music history. Dr. Lynch is also an active organ recitalist, choral conductor and church musician, and has served frequently as clinician for church music and worship-related workshops and as a consultant for organ installations. In the National Association of Schools of Music, he is a visiting evaluator and has been a member of the Commission on Accreditation and the Committee on Ethics.
His organ teachers have included Grigg Fountain, Garth Peacock, David Craighead, Arthur Poister and André Marchal. During the 1992-1993 academic year, he was a Visiting Scholar at Duke University Divinity School, where he undertook studies in theology, church history, worship and spirituality. Since 1971, he has been Organist-Choirmaster at Christ Church, Raleigh.
Degrees Held: B.M., Oberlin College, M.M., Performer's Certificate and D.M.A., Eastman School of Music. Additional study at the Akademic "Mozarteum" in Salzburg, Austria; organ study in Paris; and at Syracuse University and Duke University
Courses Taught: Organ, music history, music literature and music appreciation
Contact: 211 Wainwright, (919) 760-8385, LynchD@meredith.edu
Frances M. Page is Head of the Department of Music at Meredith College, where she also serves as Coordinator of Music Education. She teaches methods courses for music education majors and also K-6 teacher licensure students, advises music education majors and directs and supervises student teaching. Dr. Page is a Past-President of the North Carolina Music Educators Association and Past Chair of the Arts Education Leadership Coalition (AELC). She is also Past President of Southern Division MENC: The National Association for Music Education and in that capacity served on the National Executive Board of MENC. In July of 2004, Professor Page was named “Tar Heel of the Week” by the Raleigh News and Observer and in the spring of 2007, she was designated by the Capital City Girls Choir as an MENC Lowell Mason Fellow.
She is the founder and conductor of the Capital City Girls Choir, a three-choir organization for community girls from ages nine to eighteen. The choir performs has a busy performance schedule both in the United States and abroad. Performances venues include the Spoleto Festival, Washington National Cathedral, and venues on England, Austria and British Columbia.
Dr. Page has the B.A. in music education from Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina and the M.M. and Ed. D. in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds Orff Levels I, II, and III certification.
Recognized for her expertise as a children's choral specialist, she frequently conducts workshops and festivals. She also has done considerable work in the area of curriculum integration and arts curriculum planning and assessment and consults with schools in that capacity. Dr. Page frequently serves on teacher education program approval teams for the NC Department of Public Instruction.
Degrees Held:B.A. in music education, Limestone College; M.M. and Ed.D. in music education, UNC-Greensboro. She holds Orff Levels I, II, and III certification.
Courses Taught: Methods courses for music education majors and K-6 teacher licensure students. As the Coordinator of Music Education, she advises music education majors and directs and supervises student teaching.
Contact: 104 Wainwright, (919) 760- 8575, PageF@meredith.edu
Anthony Vaglio, Jr., professor of music, has been on the Meredith faculty since 1977.
Vaglio maintains a deep admiration for and interest in The Schillinger System of Musical Composition, a mathematical approach to compostition developed by Joseph Schillinger. Vaglio leads his composition students to explore a variety of compositional techniques as they find their own style.
Degrees Held: B.A., Adelphi University, M.M., Butler University and Ph.D., Eastman School of Music
Courses Taught: Vaglio coordinates the beginning and advanced music theory program, teaches composition majors and offers mini-courses in the use of the music notation application Finale.
Contact: 111 Wainwright, (919) 760-8578, vagliot@meredith.edu
Jim Waddelow, DMA, a native of Oklahoma, joined the faculty of Meredith College as Director of Instrumental Activities in 2007. He conducts the Meredith Sinfonietta and serves as Musical Director for musical theater productions in the Department of Theater and Dance. He has been the Orchestra Director of the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony Summer Music Camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1999. Jim is the Music Director and Conductor of Lubbock Moonlight Musicals in Lubbock, Texas. He has conducted over 25 operas and musicals at the college and professional level. Previous appointments and affiliations include: Texas Tech University, The Oklahoma Youth Symphony, The Lubbock Youth Symphony, Summer Overtures Theater, The University of Central Oklahoma, and The University of Arkansas. He also conducted the nationally recognized Putnam City North High School orchestra for six years. Principal teachers include Gary Lewis, Ralph Morris, Roger Strong and Lon Dehnert. Jim is a member of the Conductor’s Guild, College Orchestra Director’s Association, American String Teacher’s Association, Music Educators National Conference and The College Music Society. He is an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the South.
Degrees Held: BME University of Central Oklahoma; MM University of Central Oklahoma; DMA Texas Tech University
Courses Taught: Orchestra, Conducting, Instrumentation, Orchestration, Instrumental Music Education.
Contact: 201 Wainwright (919) 760-8579; Waddelow@meredith.edu
Ellen Williams, professor of music and coordinator of vocal studies, has been on the Meredith faculty since 1992.
Williams, a mezzo-soprano, has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and has appearanced locally with the Winston-Salem, Greensboro and North Carolina symphonies. Her concert repertoire includes works ranging from Bach and Handel to Rossini and Stravinsky. She has been on the North and South Carolina Touring Artist rosters with duo partner Terry Rhodes, and together they premiered Stephen Jaffe's Fort Juniper Songs in Weill Recital Hall in 1990. The duo presented concerts in Italy and Germany, and Ms. Williams gave a series of master classes in Essen-Werden in November 2003. Williams and Rhodes released a CD of American vocal duet music on the Albany label in 1995, and a second CD featuring vocal works of Libby Larsen was recently released also by Albany. Williams was named a 2003 Regional Artist by the United Arts Council of Wake County.
Degrees Held: B.A., Meredith College, M.M., New England Conservatory of Music, and D.M., Florida State University
Contact: 221 Wainwright, (919) 760-8549, WilliamsEl@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
Listen to an audio clip of Dr. Williams singing in Tom Lohr's Biblical Songs, a setting of Psalm 54
Part-time Faculty:
Karen A. Allred received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May, 2007. She holds the Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied with Michael Zenge. She joined the faculty of Meredith College in 1989. Further studies include work with Taubman techniques.
She gave an all-Chopin recital in Bougival, France, just outside of Paris, in May, 2008. She has collaborated with members of the North Carolina Symphony as well as having appeared as a solo recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with orchestra in Colorado, South Carolina, New York, North Dakota, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. Critics have described her playing as “stunning,” having a “lovingly produced sound that circled and enveloped the listeners” and presenting a “confident mastery” (CVNC).
Allred was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant from the City of Raleigh Arts Commission in 1991-1992 in the area of piano performance. In 1991 she was a semi-finalist in the National Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition as well as an alternate in 1993. Performances in master classes have included work with Ruth Laredo, Paul Schenley, Menahem Pressler, Clifton Matthews, John Perry, and Walter Hautzig.
She maintains a private studio in Chapel Hill where she enjoys teaching adults and pre-college students of all ages. Her students have received awards at state and international levels.
Allred is an active festival and master class clinician, adjudicator, and recitalist. She gave a workshop for the Wilmington Piano Teachers Association in 2005 (“Preparing Students to be College Piano Majors”), the Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum in 2000 (“Beyond the Page”), and was a presenter of the NCMTA piano contest repertoire list for the state of North Carolina in 2003. She presented a session on Sergei Lyapunov’s Preludes, Op. 6, at UNC-G’s nationally acclaimed Focus on Piano Literature (“Russian Romantics”) in the summer of 2006. Areas of current research and interest include the solo piano works of Sergei Lyapunov, Russian piano literature, and the Russian language. She is currently working on a performer’s guide for Sergei Lyapunov’s Preludes for solo piano, Op. 6.
Dr. Allred is President of the Mallarmé Youth Chamber Orchestra (MYCO), serves on the Board of Directors of the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, and is the College Faculty Chair on the Board of the North Carolina Music Teachers Association.
Degrees Held: D.M.A., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, M.M., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.M., Meredith College
Courses Taught: Piano. Her studio includes college piano majors as well as non-majors, pre-college students (beginning—advanced), advanced adults, and music theory for pre-college students.
Contact: 210 Wainwright, (919) 760-2877, allredk@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
Listen to an audio clip of Karen Allred performing Debussy's Cloche à travers les feuilles (Images, Book I).
Wilinda Atchley has taught Suzuki violin at Meredith since 1987. Atchley received her early music training in Kansas and New Mexico, and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas and University of Wisconsin.
Degrees Held: B.A., Eastern New Mexico University
Courses Taught: Suzuki violin, Coordinator of the Suzuki Music Program
Contact: 207 Wainwright, (919) 760-8638, Atchleyw@meredith.edu
Janet Cherry has taught piano at Meredith since 1988. Keyboard technique is an area of particular interest, and has led her to study the techniques and teaching methods developed by pianist Dorothy Taubman. These techniques promote freedom, ease, and accuracy in playing while providing a philosophy of movement to protect pianists from physical tension and injury. From 1996 through 2000, she studied in Raleigh and in Philadelphia, with Taubman Institute faculty member Robert Durso. In addition, she regularly attended the Taubman Institute during those years and participated as a practice assistant for students. Currently, she is exploring the ways this technique can also benefit organists in their playing.
In 2003, Cherry completed a two-year term as Dean of the Central North Carolina chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She is a member of Music Teachers National Association, North Carolina Music Teachers Association, Raleigh Piano Teachers Association, and the Cary/Apex Piano Teachers Association.
Degrees Held: B.M., M.M., Meredith College
Courses Taught: Organ & Piano
Contact: 217 Wainwright, (919) 760-2369, CherryJ@meredith.edu
Carol Chung has taught violin at Meredith since 2002. An active recitalist and chamber musician, she also plays regularly with the North Carolina Symphony and is a founding member of the Quercus Quartet. In the summer, she performs with the Colorado Music Festival, a professional summer orchestra based in Boulder, Colo. She is also a former member of the Mallarmé Chamber Players, the Canton (Ohio) Symphony and the Virginia Symphony as well as a former instructor of violin at Duke University.
Chung has performed and coached with members of the Tokyo, Vermeer, Cavani and Juilliard Quartets. She earned her B.M. and M.M. degrees in violin performance under the tutelage of David Updegraff and Bernhard Goldschmidt at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Degrees Held: B.M., M.M. in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music
Courses Taught: Violin
Contact: 203 Wainwright, (919) 760-8329, chungc@meredith.edu
Judy Dunson has taught Suzuki guitar in the non-credit program at Meredith since 1985. She an author whose publications include Verses, a supplement to Book 1 of Suzuki Guitar, and a book of Christmas and Hanukkah guitar music, O Come Little Children, which she co-authored with Norma McNamara. Dunson has also written a curriculum for parent training for Suzuki guitar and for four years was co-author of a column in Soundboard magazine.
Dunson has traveled widely throughout the U.S. as a guitar clinician at Suzuki institutes, and participated in a study trip to Spain while a student at Meredith. In 2002 and 2004 she taught master classes at the NC School of the Arts Statewide Suzuki Play-In. In 2002, Dunson staged and produced a work for guitar quartet, Ferdinand, by Munroe Leaf.
A founding board member of the Triangle Guitar Society, Dunson is also an active member in the Capitol Area String Teachers Association, the Central Carolina Chapter of AOSA, the Guitar Foundation of America, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Courses Taught: Guitar. Her specialties include classical and folk guitar with a focus on the Suzuki method; her students range in age from four years old to adult.
Degrees Held: B.A., Meredith College
Contact: P18 Jones, (919) 760-2822, MOWDAVE@aol.com
Janis Dupre, accompanist, has been on staff at Meredith since 1994. She accompanies voice students, choral ensembles, opera workshop and serves as faculty advisor for the Meredith chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota. She is also the staff pianist for Capital Opera Raleigh.
Previously, Dupre was the staff accompanist at the University of Mississippi, University of New Orleans, and North Carolina State University, and assistant chorus master for the New Orleans Opera Association
Degrees Held: B.M. in piano performance; M.M. in accompanying from Florida State University.
Courses: Accompanist for voice students, choral ensembles and opera workshop
Contact: P3 Jones, (919) 760-8053, jdupre@nc.rr.com
Don Eagle has taught trumpet at Meredith since 1986. He served in the US Army from 1972-75, during which time he was selected assistant lead trumpet in the school wide jazz lab band at the Naval School of Music in Little Creek, Va., and served as first trumpet/section leader in the 82nd Airborne Division band.
He has played at the Library of Congress and as a soloist with the NC Chamber Players, recorded the soundtrack for the National Opera Company production of "The Elixir of Love" for WUNC-TV, and played lead and solo trumpet on the big band segment of the UNC-TV production "Yusef and Friends." Eagle has recorded with the St. Stephens Chamber Orchestra, and the N.C. Symphony (most notably the Robert Ward celebration).
Eagle has been the recipient of a Raleigh Arts Council emerging artist grant, and has served as third trumpet in the NC Symphony since 1981. He currently teaches at Duke University and Meredith College and maintains an active private studio. His most recent recording with organist Marilyn Keiser and the Ciompi Quartet, "Studies in Relief," is available on the "Pro Organo" label.
Courses Taught: Trumpet
Degrees Held: Undergraduate study, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, additional private study
Contact: deagle001@gmail.net
Margaret Evans has taught piano at Meredith College since 1994. Highly regarded as both performer and teacher, she has received awards and honors in both areas. Dr. Evans has performed as recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist in North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, Montana, Oregon, and Switzerland. She has performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Cliff Dwellers Club, and on KUFM Public Radio. Evans has performed in master classes for artists such as Claude Frank, Ruth Laredo, Menahem Pressler, Gyorgy Sebok, Nelita True, and Earl Wild. She has furthered her studies through participation in the Taubman Institute, the TCU-Cliburn Institute, and the Sergei Babayan International Piano Academy.
Margaret Evans judges piano competitions throughout the United States. In 2005 she also judged in Hong Kong, and has been invited to return to Hong Kong as well as to judge in mainland China in 2006-2007.
Recent speaking engagements include the 2000 NCMTA State Conference (Guest Banquet Speaker), where she was asked to relate her experience of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs (in which her student was a semi-finalist); the 2003 World Piano Pedagogy Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was Session Leader for the topic Improving Upon Excellence; the Nashville-Rocky Mount Piano Teachers in 2004 (Mastering Memory); the Wilmington Piano Teachers Association in 2005 (topic: Preparing Students to be College Piano Majors); and the Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum in 2005 (topic: What's Working Now: A Peak Inside An Ever-evolving Studio.).
Evans currently serves on the Executive Board of NCMTA. She was also instrumental in establishing the Meredith College MTNA Collegiate Chapter, only the second such chapter in the state, and serves as its Faculty Advisor.
Dr. Evans holds memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Kappa Lambda (Certificate of Honor), Phi Kappa Phi, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Students of Dr. Evans have won recognition in state, regional, and international piano competitions; and they have also won music scholarships to outstanding colleges and conservatories.
Courses Taught: Piano. Her current studio includes piano majors, pre-college students and advanced adults.
Degrees Held: B.M., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (Phi Beta Kappa); M.M. University of Illinois; and D.M. from Northwestern University.
Contact: 209 Wainwright, (919) 760-8349, evansm@meredith.edu
Marta C. Findlay-Partridge (non-credit program) has taught violin at Meredith for 20 years and also teaches at Athens Drive (Raleigh) and Cary High Schools. A member of the strings staff of the Wake County Public School System for 20 years, her orchestras have consistently been awarded "Superior" ratings from the N.C. Music Educators Association Orchestra Contest/Festival.
An active performer in the Raleigh area, Findlay-Partridge has been the Associate Conductor of the Triangle Youth Symphony since its inception in 1994 and was the founder and conductor for nine years of the Raleigh-Triangle String Orchestra, the predecessor of the Triangle Youth Orchestra. She has performed with the Indianapolis, Wichita, and North Carolina Symphonies.
She is the 2004 recipient of the North Carolina Symphony's Maxine Swalin Outstanding Music Educator Award, which is presented annually to a North Carolina music teacher who serves the community as a role model in music education, instills a love for music in children and inspires students to reach appropriately high musical standards.
Degrees Held: Graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2002, she was among the first music educators to earn certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
Courses Taught: Violin
Contact: 231 Wainwright, (919) 760-8536, marmiles@bellsouth.net
Margaret Garriss has taught violin at Meredith since 1989. She is a professional violinist, teacher and freelance musician who enjoys teaching both traditional and Suzuki students in private and group settings. While a student Margaret was a scholarship recipient for the Paul Rolland International String Workshop held in Salzburg, Austria, and the Agnes Cooper Memorial Award from Meredith. She was also selected as Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and was chosen as a member of The Outstanding Young Women of America.
Garriss holds professional memberships with the American String Teacher's Association, The Musician's Association Local 500, The Music Teachers National Association, Music Educators National Conference, The Suzuki Association of the Americas, The Capital Area Suzuki Teacher's Association, The Raleigh Music Club, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Pi Kappa Lambda.
Since 1982, Garriss has served as an Associate Coordinator for the Lamar Stringfield Chamber Music Camp held annually at Meredith. She is also a certified non-practicing member of the Feldenkrais Method and she traveled internationally for two years as a musical missionary with the Celebrant Singers organization based in California.
Degrees Held: B.M. (Magna Cum Laude), M.M. in Violin Performance and Pedagogy Meredith College. Certified in seven levels of Suzuki training
Courses Taught: Violin and Suzuki Violin
Contact: 118 Jones, (919) 760-2871, Meg333@earthlink.net
Phyllis Garriss, associate professor emeritus of string instruction, is founding director of the Lamar Stringfield String Music Camp, which observed its 25th Anniversary in 2004.
Previous teaching positions include DePauw University and Ball State University. A former National Secretary of the American String Teachers Association, Professor Garriss is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the Music Teachers National Association, the American String Teachers Association, Local 500 of the Musicians Association, and past-president of the Raleigh Music Club. She performs with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and the Capital String Ensemble.
Degrees Held: B.A., B.M. Hastings College; M.M. Eastman School of Music
Courses Taught: Violin and Viola
Contact: P12 Jones, (919) 760-2821, GarrissP@meredith.edu
Jimmy Gilmore has taught clarinet at Meredith since 1994. He is Principal Clarinet of the North Carolina Symphony. A student of Stanley Hasty, Leon Russianoff and Anthony Gigliotti, Gilmore was formerly a member of the Rochester Philharmonic and the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point. He has made numerous appearances as soloist and recitalist throughout the Southeast. Gilmore also teaches at Duke University.
Gilmore is also a published writer whose articles have appeared in The State magazine, The Spectator and Clarinetwork. In 1989, his one-act play, The Picture Album, won second prize in the Wachovia Playwrights Competition, a statewide contest. He is co-founder of Aurora Musicalis.
Degrees Held: B.M., Eastman School of Music; M.M., M.S., Juilliard School of Music.
Courses Taught: Clarinet
Contact: 112 Wainwright, lizandjimmy@nc.rr.com
Pamela Halverson has taught French horn at Meredith since 1992. In addition, she performs frequently with orchestras, teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and directs the Village Band of Chapel Hill.
Degrees Held: B.M., music education, University of Michigan; M.M., instrumental conducting, North Carolina School of the Arts
Courses Taught: French Horn
Contact: 919-760-8536, pamweasel@prodigy.net
Virginia Ewing Hudson teaches cello and related subjects at Meredith College and has taught Music Appreciation at St. Augustine College. She co-directs youth programs for both the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and The Lamar Stringfield Music Camp. Ms. Hudson has appeared as soloist with The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, The Raleigh Civic Symphony and The Blue Lake Festival Orchestra. She has performed as a chamber musician with The Mallarme and Meredith Chamber Players and is a member of the Triangle Quartet. Ms. Hudson has served as principal cello for The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, The Opera Company of NC, The Greensboro Symphony, The Raleigh Symphony, The Raleigh Civic Symphony, The Blue Lake Festival Orchestra and The International Music Program. She has also performed with the NC Symphony. Ms. Hudson holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the NC School of the Arts, studying cello with such luminaries as Robert Marsh, Lev Aronson, Paul Olefsky and Colin Carr and chamber music with Josef Gingold and Dan Welcher. She has been heard on radio broadcast, PBS, and various record labels.
Degrees Held: B.M., University of Texas; M.M., The North Carolina School of the Arts. Hudson has studied with Lev Aronson and Colin Carr.
Courses Taught: Cello
Contact: P216 Wainwright, (919) 760-2895, hellocello2@mac.com
Audio clips:
- Listen to an audio clip of Ms. Hudson playing Tom Lohr's Songs from the Bible, with Mezzo-soprano (Lisa Fredenburgh), Cello (Virginia Hudson), Flute (Pam Nelson) and Piano (Tom Lohr).
- Listen to an audio clip of Virginia Hudson and Kent Lyman performing The Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
Sophia Johnson, accompanist, joined the Meredith Department of Music in 1998.She has an extensive background in piano and organ. In addition to accompanying vocal lessons at Meredith, she has been organist for St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sanford for more than 20 years. She has also been the staff organist and organ instructor for Stephenson Music Company.
Her ability to play both classical and popular styles from the page and by ear has earned her an excellent reputation; she is frequently in demand as an accompanist and as an entertainer throughout the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Johnson performed for 15 years at the Plantation Inn and has been playing dinner music at the Capital City Club for more than 10 years.
Courses: Accompanist for Vocal Lessons
Contact: 217 Wainwright, (919) 760-2394
Donna Jolly has taught piano at Meredith since 1988. Jolly has an active career as a soloist, collaborator, teacher and church musician. She is also orchestral pianist with the N.C. Symphony and organist at First Baptist Church in Raleigh
Degrees Held: B.M., East Carolina University; M.M. in piano pedagogy and performance, Meredith College
Courses Taught: Piano
Contact: 218 Wainwright, (919) 760-8517, JollyD@meredith.edu
Pin Pin Jong grew up in Malaysia where she studied and trained under The Royal Academy School of Music. Later, she received a Performance Diploma (P.C.) and a Teaching Diploma (A.T.C.L.) from The Royal School of Music, London. She has taught piano at Meredith College since 2000. She is an active member of the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association and the North Carolina Music Teachers Association. Mrs. Jong is frequently asked to judge piano competitions and festivals and her students have won recognition in both local and state competitions.
Degrees Held: P.C., ATCL, Royal School of Music, London; B.M. magna cum laude, Meredith College; M.M. in piano, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Courses Taught: Piano
Contact: 220 Wainwright, (919) 760-2394, JongP@meredith.edu
Tom L. Lohr has been an Instructor of Piano at Meredith College since 1979, where he teaches piano, composition, choral arranging, and music theory seminars. Mr. Lohr coordinates the Meredith College School of Music (the non-credit division of the Department of Music) as well as the summer piano camp, beginners' piano camp middle school composition camp, intensive piano camp and high school theory camp.
During his time at Meredith College Mr. Lohr has taught undergraduate piano major, graduate students and all levels of non-credit students in the School of Music ranging in ages from 6 to 82. Both his piano students and composition students are often winners of area competitions. Former students of his have pursued music further study at such noted schools as Indiana University and the Julliard School.
As a composer, Mr. Lohr has written works for performers of various media including piano and piano four-hands. A selection of works includes a one-act opera, The Practical Heart (1998), Biblical Songs (1999), Songs from the Bible (2000-2001), and Songs of the Indian Spirit (1999), and Improvisation, a solo piano piece written in September 2002, for the Tour of Historic Steinway Pianos. During the summer of 2004, Mr. Lohr composed eleven solo piano pieces for the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association for use as competition pieces in that organization’s Young Artist Auditions. The pieces were written to mark the 50th anniversary of the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association as well as the 25th anniversary of the Young Artist Auditions, both of which were observed in 2005. All of these works are available through Shelkins Music Publishing Company. Also in 2004, Mr. Lohr received a commission to compose a work, Suite for Strings, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Lamar Stringfield Music Camp. In 2007 Mr. Lohr composed Festive Concert Overture to mark the 20th anniversary of the Philharmonic Association. The Triangle Youth Philharmonic opened their 2007-2008 concert season with a performance of this work in Meymandi Concert Hall in December and performed the work again on their 20th Anniversary Alumni Concert in June 2008 in the Koka Booth Amphitheater; the program which closed their season.
Mr. Lohr is active in both the Raleigh Piano Teachers Association and the North Carolina Music Teachers Association (NCMTA). He has served as an officer in both of these organizations and was a presenter in the 2005 Fall Conference of NCMTA where Mr. Lohr presented a lecture-recital on many of his solo piano works. Mr. Lohr, a long-time member and current president of the Gamma Mu chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda was, in April 2003, inducted into the Beta Zeta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota as an honorary member. He is a former advisor for SAI.
Degrees Held: B.M., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.M. University of Kentucky.
Courses Taught: Piano, composition, seminar in theory, choral arranging
Contact: 224 Wainwright, (919) 760-8378, LohrT@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
- Listen to an audio clip of Ellen Williams, mezzo-soprano, in a setting of Psalm 54, from Biblical Songs
- Listen to an audio clip of Lisa Fredenburgh, mezzo-soprano, Pam Nelson, flute and Virginia Ewing Hudson, cello, in a setting of Isaiah 12, from Songs from the Bible
- Listen to an audio clip of Risa Poniros, soprano, in a setting of Psalm 128, from Biblical Songs
- Listen to an audio clip of Sally Thomas, soprano, singing Native Blessing, from Songs of the Indian Spirit
- Listen to an audio clip of Tom and Susan Lohr, piano 4 hands, in a performance of The Fugue from Petite Suite for Piano, four hands
- Listen to an audio clip of Margaret Evans, Tom Lohr, Kent Lyman and Angela Stephenson performing Smetana's Rondo in C Major
Rebecca Lyman has taught Suzuki cello in the non-credit program since 1996. She received her training in Chicago and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, under Gilda Barston, Ricky Mooney, Nancy Hair, Pamela Davenport, Carol Tarr, and Barbara Wampner. She has performed as a member of the Piedmont Trio, the Springfield (Missouri) and Florence (South Carolina) Symphonies, the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently plays with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her cello work, she holds degrees in voice performance; at Indiana University, she studied with Camilla Williams.
Degrees Held: B.M., Brigham Young University; M.M., D.M., Indiana University.
Courses Taught: Suzuki Cello
Contact: 204 Wainwright, (919) 760-2286, lymanreb@meredith.edu
Pam Nelson, a native of Louisiana, teaches flute and leads
the Meredith Flute Ensemble.
She performs frequently throughout the Triangle area, where she has appeared as principal flute with the Carolina Ballet's Nutcracker and the Opera Company of North Carolina's Barber of Seville, as well as with the North Carolina Symphony. She has perfomed in the orchestras for several N.C. Theatre and Best of Broadway shows, including Evita, Beauty and the Beast, and South Pacific. Her love of chamber music is seen in her work with Montage, Silver and Gold, and several other chamber groups of which she is a founding member.
Degrees Held: M.M. Flute Performance, N.C. School of the Arts; B. Mus. Ed. Southern Illinois University.
Courses Taught: Flute and Flute Ensemble
Contact: 214 Wainwright, (919) 760-8509, nelsonp@meredith.edu
Joseph O'Donnell teaches Suzuki violin in Meredith's community music program.
Degrees Held: B.M., M.M., East Carolina University
Courses Taught: Suzuki violin
Contact: P8 Jones Hall, (919) 760-8537, erfael@nc.rr.com
Frank Pittman, NCTM, has been an instructor of piano at Meredith College since 1998. Dr. Pittman has performed as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician throughout the United States and in Europe and has appeared in live broadcast over British Radio. Dr. Pittman was the co-facilitator of the 1999 Chopin Festival held at Meredith College. As part of the Mozart at Meredith celebration he and violinist Carol Chung performed the complete series of violin sonatas by W.A. Mozart. Recently he joined forces with Ms. Chung, violist David Marschall, and cellist Bonnie Thron as founding members of the Quercus Quartet. His teachers have included Robert Morris, Duke Miles, Harvey Wedeen, Lambert Orkis, Joseph Di Piazza, and Walter Hautzig. A frequent lecturer, adjudicator, and master class clinician, he has served on the faculties of the Governor's School of NC, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Actors Center in Philadelphia, Durham School of the Arts and has has been guest Lecturer of Music Theatre at Temple University. Dr. Pittman is a native of Davis, NC, and is a member of music honor fraternity Pi Kappa Lambda, the College Music Society, and the American Brahms Society. He is a nationally certified teacher of music and the current president-elect of the NC Music Teachers Association, an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association.
Degrees Held: B.M., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.M., Temple University; D.M.A., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Courses Taught: Piano, Accompanying and Chamber Music
Contact: 203 Wainwright, (919) 760-8367, PittmanF@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
Listen to an audio clip of Frank Pittman and Kent Lyman performing Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals as a part of the Steinway Legendary Piano Tour, when Pittman performed on Van Cliburn's piano and Lyman on the piano that toured with Vladimir Horowitz.
Risa Poniros has taught voice at Meredith since 1995. She has performed extensively in both opera and musical theatre - Mimi in La Boheme, Cio Cio San in Madame Butterfly, Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, as well as leading roles in Carnival, The Mikado, Music Man and The Sound of Music. Regional performances include solo work with the North Carolina Symphony, Knoxville Opera Company, Asheville Symphony Chorus, Brevard Music Festival, North Carolina Theatre, National Opera Company and Savannah Onstage. She has also sung in world premieres of two operas at Meredith College: Tom Lohr's The Practical Heart and Benton Hess's Felice.
Degrees Held: Ed.D., Columbia University Teachers College; B.M., University of North Carolina at Greensboro; M.M. University of Tennessee at Knoxville; post-graduate Certificate of Vocal Performance, Northwestern University.
Courses Taught: Applied Voice; Class Voice
Contact: 222 Wainwright, (919) 760-8376, PonirosR@meredith.edu
Audio clips:
Listen to an audio clip of Risa Poniros singing in Tom Lohr's Biblical Songs, a setting of Psalm 128.
Nancy Riva-Palacio has offered individual piano instruction at Meredith's School of Music since 1979. A fluent speaker of French and Spanish, Riva-Palacio has also pursued studies in France at the Fontainebleau School of Music, l'Ecole Internationale d'Ete des Beaux Arts, and the Sorbonne, and at the University of Mexico in Mexico City. She shares with her students her strong interest and expertise in 20th-century French music.
Degrees Held: B.A. in piano and music theory, University of Richmond; M.A. in French, Columbia University
Courses Taught: Piano
Contact: 219 Wainwright, (919) 760-8570, rivapala@meredith.edu
Georgia Schmidt has taught Suzuki violin in the non-credit program at Meredith since 2001. Before coming to Meredith, she taught in the public schools and privately in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. She has also played extensively in orchestras and small ensembles.
Degrees Held: B.M.E., University of Wisconsin,Oshkosh; Suzuki Teacher Training Courses 1A-8
Courses Taught: Suzuki Violin
Contact: 204 Wainwright, (919) 760-8536, schmidtg@meredith.edu
Angela Stephenson teaches studio piano through the preparatory program. She has a strong interest in piano pedagogy and has done special research on the piano music of Beethoven.
Degrees Held: B.M., M.M., Meredith College
Courses Taught: Studio Piano
Contact: 112 Wainwright, (919) 760-2368, Angelarose17@yahoo.com
Audio clips:
Listen to an Audio clip of Margaret Evans, Tom Lohr, Kent Lyman and Angela Stephenson performing Smetana's Rondo in C Major
Ed Stephenson, professor of guitar, is a Toronto native who came to North Carolina to study with Aaron Shearer at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
The Raleigh News and Observer stated: "Edward Stephenson is a superb musician and will soon be recognized as one of America's most promising young performers." Ed performs throughout North America as a soloist and as a member of the North Carolina Guitar Quartet, where he plays an integral part in commissioning new works for this genre. The Quartet's most recent project includes the recording of Voices from the Garden by David Kechley, now available on compact disc under the Liscio label. A highly sought-after musician in the Triangle area, Ed has played for the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Theater, the North Carolina Bach Festival and the National Opera Company. In addition to his active performing career, Ed was awarded the North Carolina School of the Arts "Teacher of the Year Award" in 1995.
Degrees Held: B.M., North Carolina School of the Arts
Courses Taught: Guitar
Contact: P9 Jones, (919) 760-8492, Stephed@meredith.edu
Tricia Strong, accompanist, joined the Meredith staff in 2006, where she accompanies voice students. Mrs. Strong is also the accompanist at St. Augustine's College and was previously on staff at the North Raleigh Christian Academy as a music educator. Mrs. Strong is currently collaborating with Meredith piano faculty James Fogle on a recital featuring vocal and piano works of women composers.
Degrees Held: B.M. in piano performance; M.M. in vocal performance, Meredith College.
Contact: 223 Wainwright, (919) 760-8610,
Dr. Sally Thomas has served on the Meredith music faculty since 1983. During this time she has taught voice, aural skills, music methods, vocal literature and pedagogy, and directed and accompanied vocal ensembles. She has also been active in the Triangle area as a soloist in recital, chamber, and sacred settings and as a vocal and choral clinician and adjudicator. Most recently, Dr. Thomas was a featured soloist at the Moravian Music Festival, presented her paper on Moravian music at the national NATS conference, appeared in Capital Opera Raleigh’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, and sang the soprano solos for the annual Messiah “Sing-In.” In collaboration with Dr. James Fogle, also of the Meredith music faculty, Dr. Thomas has developed recitals of music by women composers and by American composers. Together they have received an Emerging Artist grant from the City of Raleigh Arts Commission as well as numerous Creative Ideas and Faculty Development grants from the College. Recently, Dr. Thomas collaborated with Dr. Frank Pittman during the "Entartete" music residency on songs by Franz Schreker with texts by Walt Whitman. Dr. Thomas holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, The Ohio State University, and Meredith College. She also serves on the faculty of Campbell University.
Degrees Held: B.M., Meredith College; M.M, Ohio State University and D.M.A., UNC-Greensboro. She has also studied at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria and holds Kodaly Certification from Sam Houston State University.
Courses Taught: Voice, aural skills, music methods.
Contact: 215 Wainwright, (919) 760-8529, thomass@meredith.edu
Kevin Yen teaches Suzuki violin in Meredith's community music program.
Degrees Held: B.M., Pennsulvania State, M.M., Suzuki Pedagogy, East Carolina University
Courses Taught: Suzuki violin
Contact: P8 Jones Hall, (919) 760-8709, yenkevin@meredith.edu
