Presenters & Clinicians for 2024-25 Programming
September 13th, 2024 @ Fox Music House
Presenter – Inga Agrest
Inga Agrest has a BA degree in Piano Performance & Composition from the College of Charleston, and MM degree in Opera/Theater Directing from the University of South Carolina. She’s been a Director, Assistant Director and Stage Manager for shows and operas in Charleston and Columbia, SC, Los Angeles and Italy. Ms. Agrest teaches private piano/voice and Musical Theatre Classes in the Charleston area and now at her own new Multi-Cultural Academy for the Creative Arts in Mt. Pleasant. She has been the Musical Director with SPROUTS Children Theatre since it came to Charleston. Ms. Agrest sang with local Opera Companies , Directed musicals in local Theaters and at the College of Charleston. Ms. Agrest has been singing with choirs her entire life ranging in locations from St. Petersburg, Russia to Charleston, SC. Locally, she has sung with Taylor Festival Choir, CofC Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, CSOC and CSO Chamber as well as several church choirs, synagogues and at the Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festival.
October 18th & 19th, 2024 @ Fox Music House
Presenter – Andrea Miller (of Music Studio Startup)
Andrea Miller is the host of the Music Studio Startup podcast and a piano teacher in St. Louis, MO. She holds a double-major in Entrepreneurship and Piano Performance from Saint Louis University and draws from her experience running her own solo and multi-teacher studio, as well as her work with startups in a variety of industries, to help music teachers build thriving studios.
Andrea loves a good spreadsheet and has a particular passion for helping teachers build businesses that work financially. She is called on by brand new teachers and multi-million dollar business leaders, alike, for her ability to break down financial challenges and work out solutions.
January 11th, 2025 @ Fox Music House
Piano Masterclass Clinician – Dr. Linda Li-Bleuel (from Clemson University)
Linda Li-Bleuel is a professor of piano in the Department of Performing Arts at Clemson University, where she teaches applied and collaborative piano, and music history. She has performed at the Festivo Siglo XX/XXI (20th and 21st Century Music Festival) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in 2019 she completed a China recital tour, centering in the cities of Nanjing and Xi’an. As a Fulbright-Taiwan scholar she taught piano and gave recitals at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Taipei National University of the Arts, National Chengchi University, and National Taiwan Normal University. She was also a visiting professor in China at Shaanxi Normal University in Xian, China, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, and Nanjing University of the Arts. A supporter of new classical art music, she and her husband, saxophonist/conductor Dr. John Bleuel, commissioned two pieces from Lucie Robert-Diessel, Paris Conservatoire composition professor and Prix de Rome winner. Dr. Li-Bleuel has given the United States and European premieres of her works, 10+1 (solo piano with saxophone orchestra) under the baton of John Bleuel, and Interrogations for violin, piano, and alto saxophone. Drs. Leslie Warlick, Li-Bleuel, and John Bleuel premiered Interrogations at the 17th World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France. Dr. Li-Bleuel has recorded for Arizona University Recordings and ACA Digital. She is the past MTNA Southern Division Director and is a sought-after adjudicator. She earned a DMA from the University of Georgia, an MM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BM from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She lives in Seneca, SC with Dr. John Bleuel, and their children Lauren, who is currently a violin student of Dr Nancy Bargerstock at Appalachian State University, and Luke, who is an engineering major and violin music minor at Clemson University.
February 8th, 2025 @ Claflin University
Chapter Collaboration with Columbia MTA
Presenter – Dr. Omar Roy
Presentation: “(Cognitive) Spacing Out: Protecting Time and Mind”
In a world that emphasizes productivity and “the grind” teachers and other professionals often find themselves sacrificing their time and peace of mind. This session explores tools, strategies, and lifestyle choices to help teachers refresh their daily routines and tasks, leaving more space for themselves.
Omar Roy currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Group Piano in the School of Music at the University of South Carolina.
A strong supporter of independent music teachers, Dr. Roy is in demand as a clinician. He frequently presents workshops and guest lectures to music teacher organizations and universities, and is a regular adjudicator for festivals and competitions. His involvement with music teachers organizations has led to leadership positions and presentations at the state and national level, including the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Dr. Roy is also part of the administrative team for The Art of Piano Pedagogy – a growing Facebook group that acts as a resource and forum of discussion that reaches nearly 23,000 teachers located throughout the world – and its companion site, Sustain.
While Dr. Roy is dedicated to teaching at both the college and pre-college levels, he also remains a committed and passionate performer, presenting both traditional and lecture performances. Recent engagements have included guest recitals, masterclasses, and lectures at universities such as the University of Arkansas – Ft. Smith, Oklahoma Baptist University, and the Western Alabama Music Teachers Association’s All State Music Weekend. His playing has also been heard on WQLN Radio’s Classics with Wally Faas.
Dr. Roy earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma where he studied Piano with Jeongwon Ham and Edward Gates, and Pedagogy with Jane Magrath and Barbara Fast. His research interests include practice efficiency, teaching strategies for students with special needs, sequenced repertoire assignment, and pedagogical applications of musical semiotics. Dr. Roy’s other teachers include Jerry Wong, Shirley Yoo, and Nathan Hess. Previous faculty appointments include the University of Alabama and Oklahoma City University.
Presenter – Renee Jackson
Presentation: “What To Do When You Don’t Feel Like Teaching: Quick Aids To Greater Ease”
Regardless of our best intentions, everyone has days when they don’t feel like teaching. Alexander Technique and energy work both offer ways to refresh yourself and improve your awareness—and some can be done very quickly and easily. In this workshop, we will explore the brief Constructive Rest break, a little Qi Gong, and allowing the energy of the earth to support and nourish you. All of these techniques can be done between lessons, and a few even during lessons. Come and explore!
Renée Jackson is an active pianist and teacher of music and Alexander Technique, and a Practitioner of Nervous System Energy Work (NSEW). She
began studying Alexander Technique (AT) seriously after a car accident in 1995, beginning her teacher training at the Alexander Alliance in Philadelphia, PA, in 1998, and subsequently finishing her training and her sponsorship certification with Alexander Technique International in 2001. During her training in
Philadelphia, she also continued to work with AT teachers in Columbus, mostnotably Dale Beaver. Her study with Dale, Donna Doellinger, and Bill Conable
led her to to begin studying Nervous System Energy Work in Cleveland, OH with James Kepner and Carol DeSanto, and she certified in NSEW in 2012. She
continues to explore both NSEW and AT through workshops and conferences, and finds both to be rich, lifelong practices. She founded and directed the
Myrtle Beach Alexander Technique and Energy Workshop from 2012-2021 and was a guest faculty member at Chesapeake Bay Alexander Studies (CBAS) with
Robin Gilmore. She is currently serving as a Director on the board of Alexander Technique International.
As a pianist and musician, Renée did her undergraduate training at Oberlin Conservatory (B.Mus. in piano performance and music theory, 1983),
and her masters degree at the University of Michigan (M.M. in music theory, 1985), with additional graduate work at the Eastman School of Music. She later
relearned and revised her approach to the piano with Mary Moran, a faculty member of the Dorothy Taubman Institute, and Edna Golandsky of the Golandsky Institute. She has also been very active with Music Teachers National Association and the South Carolina and Ohio state and local chapters and was honored with an MTNA Foundation Fellowship Award at the MTNA national convention in March 2024 (thank you all!)
As a longtime advocate of healthy playing and movement, Renée plans to continue working with pianists and others interested in better movement, ease,
and pain relief. After spending much of her career teaching piano and music theory both independently and at the collegiate level, Renée and her husband, composer Don Sloan, recently relocated to Hendersonville, NC, where Renée continues enjoying piano playing, AT and NSEW work, reading, walking her dog,
and exploring the mountains.
April 11th, 2025 @ Fox Music House
Presenter – Olivia Colomaio
Olivia Grace Colomaio (Bradstreet) is a pianist, accompanist, teacher, and 4th-year doctoral candidate in Piano Pedagogy at the University of South Carolina. She teaches lessons in piano, accompanying, composition, and music theory, and she loves teaching students of all ages, interests, experience levels, and backgrounds! Olivia also enjoys accompaning various choral ensembles, both for USC and for the community.
Originally from Bath, NY, she earned her master’s in piano pedagogy and performance from Campbellsville University (Campbellsville, KY), and her bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, NY). In her previous studies, Olivia was the recipient of the Meskimen Piano Scholarship each year she was at CU, and she was awarded the Theodore Presser Scholarship during her junior year at Roberts. She served as an Adjunct Professor of Piano on the Roberts music department faculty as well as serving on the Roberts Community Music School faculty for two years until she moved to Columbia to continue her education at USC. Her research focuses on discovering and providing resources for students with dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence. Olivia currently resides in Lexington, SC, with her husband Bailey, their 65-pound American Staffordshire Terrier, Lonnie, and their 9-pound Chiweenie, Fern.