Pianist, educator and scholar Lynn Worcester Jones joins CCM’s faculty

UC College-Conservatory of Music Interim Dean Jonathan Kregor has announced the addition of Lynn Worcester Jones, DMA, to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. Jones is an innovative pianist, educator, writer, speaker, mentor and leader who encourages career preparation and excellence in students. She begins her new role as Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Group Piano at CCM on Aug. 15, 2024.

Beginning her piano studies at the age of four with her mother, Eiki Paik Worcester, Jones has performed solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States, Italy and Austria. Her performances include works from the standard repertoire, and she has also championed works by living women composers in her research and on stage. Recent concert programs, for example, have included works by female composers—Mazzoli, Boulanger, Poldowski, Clarke, Urner, Beglarian, Ruehr, Hensel and others—as well as works by Mozart, Liszt, Villa-Lobos, Schubert, Ginastera, Glass, Cage and a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Jones earned the DMA from the University of Oklahoma, MM from Baylor University, and MM and BM from California State University, Fullerton. Her principal teachers have been Robert Watson, Eduardo Delgado, Krassimira Jordan and Jane Magrath. She has studied piano pedagogy with Martha Baker-Jordan, Lesley McAllister, Barbara Fast and Jane Magrath.

Jones’ students have recently won numerous competitions and awards including the 2024 Knoxville International Piano Competition and the Tennessee Music Teachers Association’s Collegiate-category competitions, along with departmental academic and music awards, and university concerto competitions. Her students have also earned scholarships and assistantships to top MM and PhD programs, won a tenure-track academic position at an R1 university, have been accepted into leading summer piano festivals (including Amalfi Coast Festival and Tennessee Governor School for the Arts), and opened new piano studios throughout the country. Jones’ students have presented sessions at the Music Teachers National Association Conference (2018), College Music Society (2018), National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (2023), and the 2024 Tennessee Music Teachers Association State Conference. Most recently, her students presented “Unveiling Mel Bonis’ Musical Tales: A Journey through ‘Album pour let Tout-Petits, Op. 103’” for the Frances Clark Center’s first Collegiate Connections in April 2024.

Committed to professional service and community outreach, Jones coordinated the UTC Piano Arts Competition for six years while in Chattanooga. She served on the Tennessee Music Teachers Association State Board in various roles from 2018-24 including Junior Piano Competitions Coordinator, Collegiate Chapter Presidents Chair, and Local Presidents Liaison. She chaired the 2023 TMTA State Conference and served as the Chattanooga Music Teachers Association Programs Chair from 2022-24. Well-known as a professional collaborator and supporter of colleagues at every level, Jones was named Chattanooga Music Teachers Association’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

“Lynn Worcester Jones is a first-class performer and scholar with a student-centered philosophy, which makes her an ideal addition to our faculty,” said Kregor. “Jones is also a wonderful successor to our dear colleague Michelle Conda, who is retiring this summer after 31 years of service to our college. I want to recognize the outstanding work of our search committee, which was co-chaired by BettyAnne Gottlieb and Michael Unger, and also included Vincent DeGeorge, Catharine Losada and Sandra Rivers."

Featured image at top: Lynn Worcester Jones performs on the piano. Photo/provided