PATRICIA BRADY, Professor
 B.A., B.M., Rhodes College; M.M., University of Memphis; D.M.A., Indiana University. Major teachers included James Tocco, Sidney Foster, Daniel Fletcher and Anthony Newman (harpsichord). Studies included master classes with Abbey Simon, George Bolet and Alfonso Montecino. Research into the piano music of Rachmaninoff led to a comprehensive study of Rachmaninoff's Etudes-Tableaux, the subject of a 300-page doctoral document and performances of these important works. Additional doctoral study in art history led to research and lecture/recitals on the relationships between Impressionist paintings and music. Current activities include projects providing composition experiences for pre-college and college music students and workshops focusing on computer-aided music instruction.
Email: bradypl@jmu.edu
GABRIEL DOBNER, Associate Professor
 Pianist Gabriel Dobner first appeared in concert in Europe in 1991 as part of a chamber music festival with various members of the Villa Musica Chamber Music Ensemble based in Mainz, Germany. 1993 marked the beginning of his eight years in Germany, after having been awarded a German Academic Exchange Scholarship (DAAD) to study lied accompanying in Munich with Professor Helmut Deutsch. The following year he won the special accompanist prize in the International Hans Pfitzner Lieder Competition in Munich.
While living in Augsburg, Mr. Dobner quickly established himself as one of Germany’s most sought after collaborative pianists performing regularly with such singers as Cornelia Kallisch, René Kollo, Kevin McMillan, John Wesley Wright, Alan Bennett, Alexandra Petersamer, Uta Buchheister, as well as instrumentalists Allan Vogel (principle oboe of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra), Ulf Rodenhäuser (former principle clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic), Paul Ellison (former principle double bass of the Houston Symphony Orchestra) and Patrick Sheridan (Tuba). These collaborations led to performances in many of the major concert venues in Europe, including Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Vienna and Zürich. He has also performed in the United States, Canada, Japan and Spain.
Gabriel Dobner has recorded for both the Ottavo and MDG labels. His first recording for MDG, consisting of songs of Liszt, Dvorák and Mahler with Cornelia Kallisch, won high praise from BBC Music Magazine, Fono Forum and the West German Radio in Cologne, who referred to him as a “master among Lieder pianists”. In addition to CD recordings, he has recorded for the Bayrischer Rundfunk, Südwestfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Chubo-Nippon Broadcasting Company in Japan and
Saint Paul Sunday.
Gabriel Dobner received his Bachelors Degree in piano performance from Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, where he studied with Ludmila Lazar. He then went on to Indiana University in Bloomington to earn his Masters Degree with James Tocco, as well as his Doctoral Degree with Leonard Hokanson, eventually becoming Prof. Hokanson’s teaching assistant.
Gabriel Dobner joined the faculty at James Madison University in the fall of 2001. Previous teaching engagements include Indiana University and the Nürnberg/Augsburg Hochschule für Musik in Germany .
Email: dobnergt@jmu.edu
LORI PIITZ, Assistant Professor
 D.M., M.M., Indiana University; BMus, University of Ottawa (Canada); A.R.C.T., Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto. Piano professors with whom Ms. Piitz has studied include Menahem Pressler, Leonard Hokanson, Jean-Paul Sevilla and Helgi Fatovic.
Canadian pianist, Lori Piitz, has lived, performed and taught in both North America and Europe. Prior to moving to Virginia, Ms. Piitz lived in Germany for 9 years where she participated in recitals for the Wagner Society and the New Music Association of Germany, as well as at the International Flute Congress in Frankfurt. A frequent soloist with the Neusäss Chamber Orchestra, she also presented a cycle of Beethoven works for cello and piano, with Professor Helga Winold, in Munich and Augsburg. Ms. Piitz has been a guest at the Festival of the Sound in Canada, the Schleswig-Holstein and Villa Musica Festivals in Germany, and at the Mozart Bicentennial Series in Avery Fisher Hall, New York. She and her duet partner, Gabriel Dobner, have performed in Canada, Europe and the United States, including the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In 2006 they returned to Germany to present recitals commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.
Ms. Piitz holds a Bachelors degree in piano performance from the University of Ottawa where she was awarded the prestigious 'Isobel Firestone' performance scholarship. She received two full scholarships to the Banff Center of Fine Arts where she worked with Martin Isepp and Marek Jablonski. Ms. Piitz has been heard on both the French and English networks of CBC Radio, both as a soloist and chamber musician. She has been a winner in the Canadian Music Competitions (CMC) and was a finalist in CBC television's “Virtuoses en Herbe” Competition.
Since joining the piano faculty of James Madison University in 2002, Ms. Piitz has participated in the Contemporary Music Festival at JMU, the Bach Festival at EMU, the Richmond Chamber Music Festival and the Staunton Music Festival. Previous teaching engagements include the University of Ottawa, Indiana University, Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg and the Augsburg/Nürnberg Hochschule für Musik.
Email: piitzle@jmu.edu
ERIC RUPLE, Professor; Steinway Artist; Coordinator of the Piano Area
 B.M., M.M., Arizona State University; Artist Diploma, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; D.M.A., University of Michigan. Among those with whom Dr. Ruple has studied include: Leon Fleischer, Eugene Pridonoff, Theodore Lettvin, Martin Katz, Ozan Marsh and Charles Fisher. He has also worked with members of the LaSalle and Guarneri String Quartets.
Dr. Ruple enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. A frequent guest artist and masterclass clinician, Dr. Ruple has performed and presented at universities and festivals throughout the United States. For four weeks in 2005 he was a guest clinician in Hong Kong, China.
Dr. Ruple has been particularly interested in late twentieth-century American piano music and has received acclaim for his performances of works by Elliott Carter, Frederick Rzewski, Robert Muczynski, and George Tsontakis, to name a few. He has done workshops and concerts on the music of fellow Arizonan, Robert Muczynski. Also of particular interest is the music of Beethoven, which will lead to a spring, 2006 sabbatical leave from James Madison University for the study and subsequent performances of Beethoven’s monumental “Diabelli Variations”.
Dr. Ruple has taught in a variety of different settings, including his work as a faculty member at the Virginia Governor’s School for the Visual and Performing Arts from 1992-2002. In this program he taught a number of interdisciplinary courses, including: “A History of American Music”; “Music and the Movies”; “Creative Genius or Just Plain Nuts”; “Advanced Portology” (The Culture of Doors); and “Kleptomology” (Theft in Art and Society).
Dr. Ruple has been on the James Madison University music faculty since 1987, coordinator of the Piano Area since 1992 and a MTNA Nationally Certified Teacher since 2001. Recently, he was invited to join the roster of international concert pianists of Steinway & Sons.
Email: rupleek@jmu.edu
PAULO STEINBERG, Assistant Professor
 D.M., Indiana University; M.M., Arizona State University; B.M., Universidade de São Paulo; Performer Diploma, Conservatório Musical “Carlos Gomes”. Dr. Steinberg has studied with Brazilian pianists Gilberto Tinetti, Caio Pagano and Paulo Gori, and Belgian pianist and professor, Ms. Evelyne Brancart. In addition, he had chamber music coaching with cellist Janos Starker and violinist Franco Gulli.
As a doctoral student at Indiana University, he was granted some of the school’s most prestigious awards including the “Chancellor’s Fellowship”, a teaching assistantship and a dissertation scholarship. He was also the recipient of a substantial scholarship from the Brazilian Government
Dr. Steinberg teaches piano at the undergraduate and graduate levels and a Piano Literature class. He also founded a Piano Festival in Brazil which takes place every summer, offering piano lessons and master classes to adults, young artists and children.
Prof. Steinberg’s recent studies and interests include piano technique, Brazilian and Romantic music. He has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist in Brazil, USA, Canada, Iceland and Sweden. Prof. Steinberg offers master classes, lectures and performances in the USA and abroad. His upcoming and recent projects include a CD recording, performances and masterclasses in Brazil.
Email: grikispr@jmu.edu
TERRY HOOK, Instructor
 Piano technician, instructor of piano technology; B.M.E. and Piano Technology, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA. He has worked with artists including Grant Johannesen, Ursula Oppens, Lydia Artymiw, and renowned accompanists Dalton Baldwin and John Wustman. Jazz artists he has collaborated with include Winton Marsalis, Steven Scott, Mel Torme, John Colianni, and David Liebman. Mr. Hook has also worked with pop artist Roberta Flack, folk artist and song writer Arlo Guthrie, and new age artist and song writer George Winston. He has conducted seminars for the Keyboard Association of James Madison University and the Governor's School at the University of Richmond. He currently works closely with Steinway & Sons, New York, and is involved with the Theodore E. Steinway Academy.
Email: hooktl@jmu.edu
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