David Watkins

David Watkins is director of keyboard studies at Kennesaw State University. He has also served on the summer artist faculty of the Eastern Music Festival. He was a winner of the prestigious Atlanta Music Club Scholarship to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance. He has studied and coahced with many renowned artists including Lucille Monaghan, Veronica Jochum, Miklos Schwalb, Robert Helps, Seymour Bernstein, Gary Wolf, Ivan Davis and Lorin Hollander. Mr. Watkins is certifed as a master teacher at the Music Teachers National Association. He was President of the American Matthay Asoociation 1994-1998, and was president of GA Music Teachers Association from 1994-1996. In addition to his duties at KSU, Mr. Watkins continues to perform and lecture. He presented a piano clinic at the GMEA State Conference in Janurary 2003. In March 2003 he presented a lecture-recital on Liszt's Transcendental Etudes 10, 11, and 12 at the MTNA National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 2001-2002 season, he performed RIchard Strauss' Burleske with Orchestra Atlanta. In Oct 2003, he performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Atlant Community Symphony Orchestra. In May 244, he performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Atlanta Wind Symphony.

Mr. Watkins has performed on the national convention programs of the Music Teachers National Association (Little Rock, Nashville, Salt Lake City), the American Matthay Association (Dayton Art Institute, San Jose State Universtiy, Penn State University), and the College Music Society (St. Luis, Toronto). He presented a lecture recital on the Petrarch Sonnets by LIszt at the 1998 National MTNA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. His students have recieved recognition on state, national and international levels. Mr. Watkins has released two commerical recordings on the ACA Digital label

Mr. Watkins is an active soloist, accompanist and chamber music performer with an unusually varied repertoir at his command. He has performed with the Atlanta Virtuosi Chamber ENsemble in and around his home base of Atlanta and has made appearnaces with them in such prestigious palces as the University of MEsico and the Norht American Cultural Institue in Mexico City. He has appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Cobb Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Wind Symphony, DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. He also peformed regularly with cellist Roger Drinkall; the duo toured throughout the MIdwest and South under auspices of Allied Concert Services. Mr. Watkins has accompnaied Metropolitan Opera sopranos Irene Jordan, Linda Zoghby and Patricia Craig in recital. Mr. Watkins made his solo recital debut in New York at Carnegie Recital Hall in May 1986. Mr. Watkins is an international Steinway Artist.