On Saturday, April 19^th at 6:00 p.m., a benefit concert featuring The Music Academy faculty will be presented at the Palace Theater in Crossville located on Main Street. The concert features the musical talents of Jacquie Mitchell, Soprano; Francis Elliott, Violin; and Annetta Brewster-Deck, Piano. The concert will include the works of Prokofiev, Sinding, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Mozart, Menotti and Puccini. The concert will also showcase several of the Academy’s honor students. The Music Academy is pleased to present the opportunity for faculty members and honor students to perform for the community.

Mrs. Jacquie Mitchell is the founding Executive Director of the Music Academy. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music receiving a B.M. in Vocal Performance where she studied with Richard Anderson, Richard Miller, and Carol Webber. She is a certified piano teacher of the Mayron Cole Group Piano Method and a Certified Kindermusik® Educator since 1998. She has sung with the Knoxville Opera Chorus and is an accomplished pianist specializing in accompanying. She has often been the guest pianist, vocalist and organist for area churches.  Mrs. Mitchell has been teaching privately for the past sixteen years and is a member of Music Teachers National Association, American Guild of Organists, The Choristers' Guild, The National Piano Guild, and Music Educators' National Association and the Tennessee Ladies Chorus.  Her vision is to expand The Music Academy into a leading Community School of the Arts.  She completed the AMICI (Arts Management in Community Institutions) training with the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts in June 2005. She is presently the organist and children's choir coordinator at Central Baptist Church where she had the privilege of joining Mr. Larnelle Harris onstage for a vocal duet in 2006. Mrs. Mitchell's vocal students have been awarded vocal scholarships to private high schools, colleges and the Tennessee Governor's School of the Arts. Mrs. Mitchell has been asked to join the faculty of the Summer Fine Arts Academy presented by the Annie Moses Band in Raleigh NC and Memphis TN this summer where she will be teaching the Upper Division Vocal Students.

Mr. Francis Elliott is the instructor of violin and viola at the Academy. He holds a Master's Degree from Colorado University and has been active for over five decades as a performer and teacher. He retired as the violin professor from Tennessee Tech University and was given the title of Professor Emeritus from the state of Tennessee for that institution. Before coming to Tennessee Tech in 1971, he was teaching at New Mexico Highlands University. He has been active as a performer and string educator throughout his career. He served on the administrative staff at the Aspen Music Festival 1971-1978. Besides teaching at the Academy, Mr. Elliott conducts string clinics in the schools of Tennessee and is scheduled to do a clinic and performance in Montreal, Canada and Boston in June of this year. His work has taken him to Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States from North Dakota and throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. He has given presentations in New York, Indiana and Michigan. Mr. Elliott is the current President of the Tennessee Chapter of the American String Teacher Association. He served two prior terms where he received a Certificate for Outstanding Service for the State of Tennessee for 50 years of string education. Mr. Elliott often adjudicates orchestra competitions and festivals in Tennessee and surrounding states and is a frequent clinician at String workshops for both students and faculty. The Music Academy is very fortunate to have Mr. Elliott on faculty with his vast teaching background, experience and a lifelong dedication to young people.

. Mrs. Annetta Brewster-Deck is the piano instructor at The Academy and a graduate of University of New Mexico where she received her Master’s Degree in Piano Performance/Pedagogy, studied under Arlette Felberg, Rita Angel and Falko Steinbach.  Mrs. Deck received her Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern New Mexico University where she studied with John Olsen and Paul Murphy.  She served as secretary for the Albuquerque Music Teacher’s Association from 2002-2005 as well as serving as a judge for several piano performance competitions.  She has served as an accompanist for various programs and events and enjoys teaching piano to people of all ages who are eager to learn and appreciate the art of piano performance.

Six Honor students will be invited by the faculty to perform their pieces from The Academy Student Recital being held Thursday, April 17^th at 6:00 pm at the Palace Theater. Over forty students will be performing on this evening, and the top two from each studio will be asked to perform at the Faculty Benefit Concert on Saturday. These students will represent their individual instrument/vocal studios well with their skills, dedication, and talents.

The public is invited to attend both evening concerts. Admission is free for the student recital, and tickets for the faculty concert are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are available at The Music Academy and from its students, the Palace Theater, and Mitchell Drug Co. All proceeds benefit the students of The Music Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit school of music. Please make plans for your family to hear the wonderful talent of the faculty and its honor students.

For further information, please contact The Music Academy at 484-6676 or www.themusicacademy.org