Piano Performances in the Mansion

Piano Performances in the Mansion

About Chris Walters

Born in New Orleans, Chris moved from New York to Nashville in 1989. When not touring with his own band, Chris performs and records as the keyboardist with various artists, including The Jeff Coffin Mu’tet, JD Souther, and The Peter Mayer Group. He has performed with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and recorded the soundtrack for a documentary film scored by Bela Fleck. At the age of 18, Walters was a finalist in the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra’s Gershwin competition. Chris attended the Jazz Studies Program at Webster University in St. Louis and was listed by them as a notable alumnus in a recent Downbeat magazine article. His debut album, “Strange Fruit,” was featured on National Public Radio’s Jazz South program, and his 2003 release, “Cool Blue Swing,” garnered praise for 11 tracks of original music. His most recent CD, “Yay! Everybody, Yay!” features new original songs as well as works by Alberto Ginastera and Cole Porter, with orchestrations around his small group performances.

About Kaylina Madison Crawley

Kaylina Madison Crawley is a doctoral candidate in musicology at the University of Kentucky. She is originally from Vicksburg, Mississippi. She graduated with a Master of Arts Degree from Middle Tennessee State University and summa cum laude from Fisk University with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance. She was a UNCF/Mellon Undergraduate Fellow, and her research topic was “Native Music: Recognizing the School of African-American Piano Composition during the 1940s.” She was a co-presenter at the 2009 Tennessee Music Teachers Association State Conference in a session titled “Crossing the Stream: Teaching the Piano Music of African-American Composers.” Kaylina’s dissertation focuses on John Work III and his spiritual arrangements. She currently serves as the Community Academy of Music and Arts director (CAMA) at Tennessee State University, and also teaches Music Appreciation, Proficiency Piano, and Applied Piano courses. She is also a member of the American Musicological Society, the Society of American Music, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Piano Performance Schedule

February 11 | Chris Walters
February 18 | Kaylina Crawley
February 25 | Chris Walters
March 4 | Kaylina Crawley

Available with Gardens and Mansion Tickets.

Source: Cheekwood Estate & Gardens