Music Academy

Skill level: Voice students can be beginner level. Strings and piano students need to have played at least 3 years.

Performance: The week will culminate with a special student performance on Friday, June 22, at 6 p.m. in Gregory Center. This event is open to families and friends.

Age: The music program is open to students ages 14-18.

*The Alexander Technique
Milligan is fortunate to have a professor certified to teach “The Alexander Technique,” which is a method of learning how to use less effort in activity.

Schedule

All Fine Arts programs follow the same basic schedule and join together for meals and morning and evening activities. Schedules are subject to slight changes and will be indicated at the time of check-in.

Faculty

The music program is taught by professional performers and teachers in each field who have a passion for music and are noted for their expertise.

Dr. Kellie Dubel Brown (violin/viola orchestra, chamber music)
Associate Professor of Music
Dr. Brown has been a member of the Milligan College music faculty since 1998. She serves as chair of the music department and director of the strings program and the Milligan College Orchestra. She is a frequent performer and conductor throughout Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas and is the founder and principal violinist of the Appalachian String Quartet. She also serves as the assistant conductor of the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and assistant concertmaster for the Symphony of the Mountains. In addition to publishing many compositions and arrangements, she has also published articles and is a frequent presenter, clinician, and adjudicator. In 2005 her first book, “An Annotated Bibliography of Musical Fiction,” was published by Edwin Mellen Press. Brown has studied at Furman University, East Tennessee State University, and Appalachian State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in music education, a master’s degree in violin performance, and a doctoral degree in higher education administration, with an emphasis in music administration.

Noah DeLong (piano, vocal, choir)
Assistant Professor of Music
Noah DeLong is a versatile musician who has found success as a conductor, tenor soloist, collaborative pianist, and church musician. He joined the music faculty at Milligan College in 2011, and he conducts the Concert Choir, Heritage, a select a cappella ensemble, and teaches voice. Mr. DeLong earned a B.A. in music and mathematics from Taylor University and a M.M. in choral conducting and vocal performance from Ball State University. He is presently completing the D.M.A. program in choral conducting and pedagogy at The University of Iowa, where he studied with Dr. Timothy Stalter. His research interests include the choral music of the Italian-American composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco as well as the performance practice issues of music from the 17th and 18th centuries written for the Venetian Ospedali. Mr. DeLong’s performance credits include the leading roles of Tamino (The Magic Flute) and Alfred (Die Fledermaus) with the Ball State Opera Theatre as well as performances of Handel’s Foundling Hospital Anthem and Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in D Major, Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Previously, Mr. DeLong has served as the Assistant Choral Director at Earlham College, an adjunct professor of music history at Taylor University, and Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church (P.C.A.) in Muncie, Indiana.

Anne B. Elliott (piano, chamber music)
Assistant Professor of Music
Ms. Elliott holds a bachelor of arts degree in piano performance from Coastal Carolina College (1975) and a master’s of church music in piano/accompanying (1982) from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Since 1976, Elliott has worked as a piano teacher in private studios across multiple states. She is the director, accompanist, and founder of Contemporary Praise, a college/young adult vocal ensemble. Elliott received the Honors Award Certificate in Piano/Accompanying from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a member of the Appalachian Music Teachers Association and has previously served as the vice-president in charge of membership, program writer for Pianorama, and chairperson for Pianorama. She is also a member of the National Federation of Music Clubs.

Dr. Charlotte V. Anderson (voice, the Alexander Technique)
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Music
Dr. Anderson earned a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from Youngstown State University in 1985. She holds a master of music degree in vocal performance (1987) and a doctor of musical arts in vocal performance (1993) from Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining Milligan’s faculty, Anderson taught at Colleges and Universities in Baltimore, East Tennessee and Virginia, teaching applied and class voice, vocal pedagogy, diction, art song lit., directing various choirs and serving as musical theatre voice coach. Anderson is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Choral Directors Association, American Society for the Alexander Technique, Barbershop Harmony Society and the Kingsport Music Club. She has extensive opera, recital, oratorio and symphonic song experience.  As a scholar and lecturer, she has presented lecture recitals on both classical and Broadway styles and workshops on the Alexander Technique in various organizations, choirs, high schools, and universities across the U.S.

Dr. David Runner (organ, theory, music technology)
Professor of Music
Dr. Runner has taught music at Milligan since 1972. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in music from Boise State University and his master of music degree and his doctor of musical arts degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He did European organ study with Marie-Claire Alain, Louis Robilliard, and Michael Radulescu. Runner gives organ/lecture recitals at Milligan College and in the surrounding area. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists. Runner also is the organ accompanist for the Civic Chorale. He is the Organ and Music Director substitute for various churches in the area. Runner is a native of California. He now resides in Carter County, TN with his wife, Lisa Adkins Runner.

Cherylonda Fitzgerald (cello/bass, chamber music)
Adjunct Instructor
Ms. Fitzgerald has taught cello/bass and chamber music at Milligan since 2005. She holds a Bachelors degree in Performance and Music Education from the University of Louisville and a Masters degree in Cello Performance from S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook. She is principal cellist of the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Asheville Symphony and the Kingsport Symphony of the Mountains. As a chamber musician, Ms. Fitzgerald performs with The Paramount Chamber Players, the Shelbridge Chamber Players and Signature Strings. In addition to teaching at Milligan, Ms. Fitzgerald is an adjunct instructor at East Tennessee State University, maintains a private cello studio and is director of the East Tennessee Cello Choir.

Music at Milligan

The music program at Milligan seeks to produce life-long learners and lovers of music, as well as accomplished performers and avid music consumers. Students can pursue music in a variety of degree programs or simply elect music courses to enrich their liberal arts education. Participating in music at Milligan also allows students and faculty to experience new levels of worship and service. Click here to learn more.

Milligan music graduates teach at all levels of music education, serve in music ministry positions, conduct professional music organizations, teach studio music, and perform professionally. Graduates of the music area have pursued further music studies at institutions throughout the U.S.

Milligan College

Milligan College is a premier Christian liberal arts college in beautiful Northeast Tennessee. Milligan has been named one of the Top 10 best baccalaureate colleges and one of the Best Buys in the South by U.S. News & World Report. The college offers more than 25 academic majors and three graduate programs, all designed to help individuals prepare for lives of servant-leadership.

More Information

Questions? Contact artsacademy@milligan.edu or call 800.262.8337. Click here to download a registration form.