Sterling College

Dr. Brad Nix serves as Chair of the Music Department and Director of Keyboard Studies at Sterling College, in Sterling, Kansas.  His responsibilities include teaching Applied and Group Piano, Music History, Music Appreciation, and accompanying. 

Brad earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  His primary teachers include Andrew Cooperstock, Geoffrey Haydon, David Watkins, and James Lyke, with additional training provided by Robert Spillman.  He has appeared in masterclasses with such notables as Jerome Rose, Nelita True, Alan Chow, and Marvin Hamlisch, and he has been a participant in several summer music programs, including the Piano Institute of the Las Vegas Music Festival, among others.  Dr. Nix has significant expertise in the study of ergonomic, injury-free piano technique.  He has worked with Barbara Lister-Sink as well as teachers associated with the American Matthay Association, the Abby Whiteside Foundation, and Andover Educators. 

Dr. Nix was the recipient of the 2003 Beckie Reeder Arnold Scholarship for excellence in piano performance.  In 2001, he was awarded one of six national Mu Phi Epsilon grants for summer study.  He won the 2000 Thomas Brumby Concerto Competition, earning him an appearance with the Georgia State University Orchestra and, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a performer, he was awarded the Atlanta Steinway Society Award in 1997.

Dr. Nix is an active recitalist, pedagogue, and freelance pianist.  He was recently the featured guest artist and clinician at the 2008 Northeastern State University High School Piano Festival and Competition in Tahlequah, OK.  Other recent engagements include solo and chamber recitals at Sul Ross State University, Georgia State University, North Georgia College and State University, Kennesaw State University, Front Range Community College, Colorado Christian University, and the University of Colorado at Denver.  Recent presentations include “Debussy’s Estampes,” and “The Historical and Pedagogical Value of Liszt’s Sonetti del Petrarca,” both given to the Foothills Music Teachers Association, and “Methods and Methodologies:  A Guide for Young Teachers,” presented at Kennesaw State University.   His article, “Five Ways to Help Musically Introverted Students Play with Expression,” was recently accepted for publication by Clavier Magazine.  In 2005, Dr. Nix performed with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra in their production of Carmina Burana.  He makes frequent appearances as an adjudicator for local and statewide piano competitions and recently acted as the Georgia State Chair of the Music Teachers National Association Senior Performance Competitions.

Dr. Nix recently served on the faculty of North Georgia College and State University and as a staff accompanist at Kennesaw State University.  During the 2005-2006 academic year, he served as Visiting Lecturer of Piano Pedagogy at Georgia State University in Atlanta.  His responsibilities included overseeing the group piano program and teaching Applied Piano, Group Piano, Piano Pedagogy, Sight-Reading, and Advanced Keyboard Skills. 

In addition to teaching piano, Dr. Nix maintains a significant interest in choral composition.  He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys running, hiking, and downhill skiing.