Arts For All, Omaha, Nebraska - Deborah Spence

Deborah Spence

Music has always been a part of my life.  I first began formal music training at the age of seven and continued private piano instruction through high school.  At the age of 18, I left for Elmhurst College in the Chicago suburbs, thinking I would pursue a degree in German.  After one semester devoid of practicing the piano, a discipline which had become part of my life, I decided to add applied music to my studies.  I did so by taking organ lessons.  The following semester, I added harpsichord.  After two years, my interest in choral conducting had grown, and graduate school in church music seemed a logical next step.  After completing my bachelor's degree, I attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and graduated with a Master of Sacred Music degree.  My course of study included organ, choral conducting, handbells, music history, and church music administration.  Special attention was given to all music and arts as it is practiced in the local church, including graded choir programs which gave me the skills needed to teach music to children who might otherwise receive little or no formal music training.

One of the first questions I was asked at my first job out of graduate school was, "Do you teach piano?"  As a result, I soon found myself dividing my time between church music and private piano students.  Eventually, my studio grew to 40+ students.

While living in Albuquerque, I served as vice-president of the Albuquerque Chapter of the New Mexico Music Teachers Association, which is the state chapter of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and was a nationally certified teacher.  I also served as secretary of the Albuquerque Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

In addition to teaching group piano with Arts for All and private piano with Piano Lessons Omaha, I enjoy building musical instruments.  To date, I have completed two Flemish harpsichords.  A fretted clavichord is in the process of being built. 

Because my right brain is ever demanding of me, I also dabble in traditional stained glass and warm (kiln-fired) glass.