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.

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.

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