Dr. Melissa Loehnig

Dr. Melissa Loehnig, Piano and Theory

Visiting Professor of Music

Whitman College Hall of Music

Music Building Room 114

PH: (509) 527-5239

Dr. Melissa Loehnig is currently on faculty at Whitman College as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music in Piano.  Here she has an active piano studio, teaches aural skills, and organizes the accompanying/collaborative piano activities.  She previously taught on faculty at Whitman College both as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music in the spring of 2009 and as a Lecturer of Music in Piano for the 2005-2006 academic school year.

Dr. Loehnig recently returned from a staff pianist position at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria.  In previous summers, she was chosen from a national field of applicants for the Opera Theatre Music Festival of Lucca (Italy), for the Baldwin-Wallace Art Song Festival, and for the highly competitive Songfest Program in Malibu, California.

In February of 2011, Dr. Loehnig received a prestigious performing award from Florida State University. From a pool of applicants spanning the entire College of Music, she was selected (along with soprano, Christina Villaverde) by a board of faculty members to represent Florida State University as part of the Promising Artists of the 21^st Century program.  This program is held as part of a collaboration between Florida State and the North American Cultural Center in Costa Rica.  Dr. Loehnig was awarded the opportunity to travel and perform throughout the country of Costa Rica.  In addition to performing, Dr. Loehnig taught several masterclasses at the University of Costa Rica, the Opera de Camara de Costa Rica, the Escuela Municiple de Artes Integradas en Santa Ana EMAI, and the Centro Cultural Jose Rigueres in San Ramon.  This concert tour also included the international premiere of Libby Larsen’s My Antonia. 

Dr. Loehnig has performed throughout the United States, including recently in the state of Washington with Choral Arts, a semi-professional chorus based in Seattle.  She performed the world premiere performance of William Averitt’s The Dream Keeper and is featured on their recently released CD entitled Mornings Like This on the Gothic Recording Label.

Dr. Loehnig received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance, graduating with honors from Whitman College.  She also holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from Florida State University and has completed her Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance with a focus on collaborative piano from the same institution.  During her time at Florida State University, Ms Loehnig was awarded graduate fellowships in both opera and studio accompanying.