
Kristi's Musical
Training
Kristi first began taking formal piano lessons
at the age of seven from the late Mrs. Helen Dunlap of Crossville, Alabama. It was
there that she learned the fundamentals of piano and
received a good music foundation to build upon.
During elementary and high school, Kristi took
private piano from Mrs. Deborah Colvin of Crossville. Mrs. Colvin
introduced Kristi to the extraordinary piano music of
Dino Kartsonakis, and it was
his arrangements that inspired her to excel. Kristi performed
during this time at various recitals and talent showcases. At the age of
twelve, Kristi performed flawlessly The Norwegian Concerto by Grieg from
memory and received the Award for Best Piano Performance at Mrs.
Colvin’s annual recital competition.
After high school, Kristi received a
piano scholarship to Snead State
Community College in Boaz, Alabama. It was there
that she studied classical piano with the accomplished Dr.
Melinda Kitchens Brooks. In 1993, Kristi was awarded Outstanding
Achievement in Music by the department of music faculty at Snead State.
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Kristi & Mr. Walbert
(click on picture to
enlarge) |
Beginning at age 15 and continuing throughout her
college training, Kristi also took private piano from Mrs. Sharon Vick
of Boaz, Alabama. Besides being a popular music teacher in the
Northeast Alabama area, Mrs. Vick is a well-known gospel music composer.
It was here that Kristi studied gospel music improvisation and piano
theory. Mrs. Vick also introduced Kristi to the extraordinary music of Mr. James D. Walbert of Birmingham, Alabama. Known as "The Piano Wizard", Mr. Walbert
is the grandson of the legendary James D. Vaughn, the Founder of
Southern Gospel
Music. During his musical career, Mr. Walbert performed with such icons
as Dick Van Dyke and Liberace. Mrs. Vick had once studied piano with Mr. Walbert,
so she introduced Kristi to her collection of Walbert music as part of
her piano instruction. Kristi fell in love with his jazzy compositions and began her own
collection of his music in everything from pop to gospel. She continues
to play many of these Walbert favorites wherever she performs. Kristi
continued taking piano from Mrs. Vick until 1998 for a total of 10
years.
In all, Kristi received extensive piano training
from the above mentioned instructors for a total of 18
years. |