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DeLise Graham-Hill - Traditional and Suzuki Piano

DeLise was born in Carbondale, IL, and raised in Richmond, VA. The daughter of an aspiring opera singer and grand-daughter of a gifted organist and violinist, she began playing piano by ear at the age of four. During this time she repeatedly listened to the complete Chopin waltzes and other classical works. She entered and won many competitions throughout junior high and high school, including several sponsored by the Lions Club. Her New York debut piano recital was held at a large Metropolitan Church of Manhattan when she was 14. She was a regular guest pianist on the local CBS noonday news as well as being the official pianist of the Richmond Youth Symphony. She was also a yearly participant of the Musicians Guild, where she received many accolades.

During her teen years, DeLise met and played for the famed concert pianist Gary Graffman, who encouraged her to attend his alma mater, The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Before auditioning and being accepted at Curtis, she won the Young Artist Piano Competition of the Richmond Symphony and played with them her senior year of high school. At Curtis she studied with Madam Eleanor Sokolof for two years, then transferred to Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, OH, and studied with Daniel Dannenburg and famed concert pianist Leon Bates. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance, she studied with Landon Bilyeu at VA Commonwealth University, where she received her Masters in Piano Performance. She was the winner of the VCU piano competition during this time and performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in c minor with the VCU Symphony, which was simulcast on the local public radio and television channels. She also held a graduate assistantship by serving as the staff accompanist.

She has taught piano at VA Union University; Fisk University, where she also directed the Fisk Jubilee Singers; and Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where she also conducted the girls' group the Treble Tones, and served as the staff accompanist. At the same time, she taught afternoons at Jan Williams’ School of Music, and also taught during the day at the local Montessori School, where she balanced approximately 40 students among all three institutions. She always enjoys interacting with the students and is excited when they progress. Most recently, she served as the staff accompanist at KY State University, where she played for the Opera Department and for the concert choir.

Most recently she has been accepted into the doctoral program at U.K. She has 3 daughters of her own, and she loves teaching and helping aspiring musicians. DeLise is also a singer-songwriter with perfect pitch who plays by ear as well as being proficient at sightreading. She now is a faculty member of The Music Institute of Lexington, headed by Mylinda Dockery, and she is thoroughly enjoying teaching piano and continuing to expand her musical horizons.