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Weems Nancy

Madison Endowed Professor of Piano

Division Head of Piano

Nancy Weems (Piano, Division Head) performed extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia, Mexico, Central America, and the former Soviet Union to wide critical acclaim. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Texas, her solo appearances include concerts in fourteen foreign countries, in addition to the U.S. After a recital in Reykjavik, Iceland, one critic called her "a rare treasure... Nancy Weems is an extraordinary pianist, grand in scope, and powerful in her interpretation, possessing fantastic technique." In Mexico City, a reviewer stated that "Nancy Weems is gradually beginning to occupy the place of one of the top international pianists in Mexico." A Houston Post article reported, "The young performer put an amazing display of energy and keyboard technique into a recital that went from strength to strength." And after her debut recital at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the music critic of The Washington Post praised "Weems' powerful technique" and "delightful mix of strength and flexibility." Nancy Weems was a winner in the l984 Artistic Ambassador Competition sponsored by the United States Information Agency. As a result, Ms. Weems represented the United States as an Artistic Ambassador in three international concert tours - first to the countries of Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and the U.S.S.R. and in 1987, to Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Costa Rica. In 1993, the USIA sponsored Ms. Weems for additional recitals in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Recently, she was invited to tour four cities in China (Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu and Shenzhen) for recitals, lectures, and classes. Ms. Weems also represented the United States in the 1981 Van Cliburn International Competition, and won top awards in the International Recording Competition. Ms. Weems has recorded for the Albany and the Bay Cities labels. The recording Classical Hollywood was nominated for a Grammy award in 1990. In addition, she has been featured in recordings of American composers Arnold Rosner and Chris Theofanidis. She was named the Outstanding Collegiate Teacher in 1991 by the Texas Music Teachers Association, and received a University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award in 1995. Professor Weems regularly presents lectures, recitals and teacher workshops and has been a featured MTNA convention artist for the states of New York, Washington, Minnesota, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, North Dakota and Texas. In addition, Ms. Weems is active as an adjudicator of national and international piano competitions and has been a presenter at the Music Teachers National Association Convention and the World Piano Pedagogy Conferences.