| Nan Childress Orchard |
Nan Childress Orchard received a D.M.A. in Piano from Rutgers University, an M.M. in Vocal Accompanying
and Chamber Music from the University of Cincinnati, and a B.A. from Portland State University. She is an
Associate Professor of Music at Caldwell College, and chair of the music department, where she has taught
since 2001.
During her graduate work at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Childress was introduced to the developing
field of scholarship in the history of women composers by one of the pioneers in the field, Karin Pendle.
Since that time she has performed many works by women on the harpsichord, fortepiano and modern
piano, including a performance of the Keyboard Concerto in E-flat Major, by Maria Hester Park on a replica
of an 18th-century piano. Solo and chamber performances across the country have included music by
Libby Larsen, Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke, Catherine LeDuc Hostetler, Koren Cowgill and Nkeiru Okoye. In
an effort to support the work of women composers she has commissioned and performed works by New
Jersey women composers. One of the pieces is featured on the Beauport Classics CD In Concert:
Composers in Collaboration.
She is an active chamber musician performing regularly with her trio, Terzetta. Recent programs have
highlighted the works of women composers and future performances will explore the music of New York
composers. She has recently performed solo works in New York City including a performance of Gregg
Wramage’s La tristesse durera. She has played with the Rutgers SummerFest Orchestra and the Garden
State Philharmonic, and has performed for, and with, international artists including Jean Pierre Rampal and
Lukas Foss.
Dr. Childress has served as musical director for professional musical theatre productions in Oregon, Ohio,
West Virginia and New York. In New York City she worked for Amato Opera Company and the Metropolitan
Opera Guild school program. She was pianist for the off-Broadway production of the Schmidt and Jones
musical Collette Collage, directed by the authors. Regional productions include Gilbert and Sullivan's The
Mikado and Pirates of Penzance, Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures and Leonard
Bernstein's On the Town and West Side Story. Dr. Childress has taught musical theatre courses for
Musical Theatre Works in New York City and at Northern Kentucky University. She has coached for
summer opera camps at Caldwell College, Idaho State University and Rutgers University. She directs the
Music Theatre Workshop course at Caldwell College.
Dr. Childress is an active member of NJMTA, MEA of NJ and IAWM and adjudicates regularly at piano
events in New Jersey. She is published in Women and Music in America since 1900: An Encyclopedia and
The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. She has written music criticism for the Classical New Jersey Society
music journal and has presented papers and performed at music conferences in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York and Kentucky.
and Chamber Music from the University of Cincinnati, and a B.A. from Portland State University. She is an
Associate Professor of Music at Caldwell College, and chair of the music department, where she has taught
since 2001.
During her graduate work at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Childress was introduced to the developing
field of scholarship in the history of women composers by one of the pioneers in the field, Karin Pendle.
Since that time she has performed many works by women on the harpsichord, fortepiano and modern
piano, including a performance of the Keyboard Concerto in E-flat Major, by Maria Hester Park on a replica
of an 18th-century piano. Solo and chamber performances across the country have included music by
Libby Larsen, Amy Beach, Rebecca Clarke, Catherine LeDuc Hostetler, Koren Cowgill and Nkeiru Okoye. In
an effort to support the work of women composers she has commissioned and performed works by New
Jersey women composers. One of the pieces is featured on the Beauport Classics CD In Concert:
Composers in Collaboration.
She is an active chamber musician performing regularly with her trio, Terzetta. Recent programs have
highlighted the works of women composers and future performances will explore the music of New York
composers. She has recently performed solo works in New York City including a performance of Gregg
Wramage’s La tristesse durera. She has played with the Rutgers SummerFest Orchestra and the Garden
State Philharmonic, and has performed for, and with, international artists including Jean Pierre Rampal and
Lukas Foss.
Dr. Childress has served as musical director for professional musical theatre productions in Oregon, Ohio,
West Virginia and New York. In New York City she worked for Amato Opera Company and the Metropolitan
Opera Guild school program. She was pianist for the off-Broadway production of the Schmidt and Jones
musical Collette Collage, directed by the authors. Regional productions include Gilbert and Sullivan's The
Mikado and Pirates of Penzance, Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures and Leonard
Bernstein's On the Town and West Side Story. Dr. Childress has taught musical theatre courses for
Musical Theatre Works in New York City and at Northern Kentucky University. She has coached for
summer opera camps at Caldwell College, Idaho State University and Rutgers University. She directs the
Music Theatre Workshop course at Caldwell College.
Dr. Childress is an active member of NJMTA, MEA of NJ and IAWM and adjudicates regularly at piano
events in New Jersey. She is published in Women and Music in America since 1900: An Encyclopedia and
The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. She has written music criticism for the Classical New Jersey Society
music journal and has presented papers and performed at music conferences in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York and Kentucky.