NSMS is pleased to welcome Dr. Malissa Tong to the faculty for the 2022-2023 school year!
Dr. Tong joins us from Brooklyn, NY. She writes, "I look forward to meeting, learning, and working with the wonderful faculty, administration, and the students at NSMS!"
Dr. Tong is a dedicated music educator and pianist with a wealth of experiences that contribute to her unique professional perspective. She earned her Doctor of Arts in Piano from Ball State University with emphases in chamber music/accompanying and music education, studying with Dr. Ray Kilburn. She holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Ohio University, where she studied with Dr. Christopher Fisher. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, and is a certified K-12 public school music teacher in the state of New York.
As a teacher, Dr. Tong has experience teaching students of all ages and levels for well over a decade. While completing her doctoral studies, she maintained a private studio of 15-20 students and taught general music, choir, and band at St. Mary school in Muncie, IN. Through her teaching internship at Ball State, she assisted professor Phoenix Park-Kim with class piano, applied piano, and piano pedagogy coursework at Indiana Wesleyan University. Additional pedagogical training includes an undergraduate concentration in pedagogy, numerous pedagogy seminars at the graduate level, and a case study in piano studio teaching for her doctoral dissertation. Most importantly, Dr. Tong loves teaching and is constantly striving to give her students the best she has to offer.
Dr. Tong remains active as a performer and presenter. She enjoys playing stylistically diverse programs, and her lecture recital focused on extended piano techniques. As a collaborative pianist, Dr. Tong recently played for approximately 20 violinists for the Indiana Federation of Music Clubs. Dr. Tong has presented and performed at regional and national conferences such as NCKP and MTNA, and presented at the 2022 MTNA National Conference. She adjudicated in the 2019-2020 National Federation Music Club Junior Festival, where she has been employed as treasurer for the junior festival since 2020. She also served as administrative assistant at the North American preliminary round of the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition from 2017-2019, and is currently the assistant director of the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition, where she assists in organizing the annual competition for young artists.
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