Faculty
Jeremy Grall, Music Instructor, ext. 3546
A native of Appleton, Wisconsin, Jeremy Grall received the Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from the Scheidt School of Music, University of Memphis, under the tutelage of Dr. Lily Afshar. In 1999, he received the Master of Music degree in guitar performance from the Yale School of Music, where he was a scholarship student of Benjamin Verdery.
In addition to his academic studies, Mr. Grall spent four summers studying as a scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival under internationally renowned guitarist Sharon Isbin, chair of the guitar department at the Juilliard School. He also has received additional coachings in performance from such artists as Michael Nicollela, Benjamin Verdery, Oscar Ghiglia, Scott Tennant, Seymour Bernstein, Ricardo Iznaola, Lorenzo Michelli, Adam Holzman, Steven Aaron, and Steven Robinson. Mr. Grall has also studied jazz guitar for three years with former Count Basie Big Band guitarist, Charlton Johnson.
In 2001, Jeremy was first prize winner of the Classical Guitar division of the Beethoven Club Young Artist Competition. Jeremy was recently a featured performer on the Christian Brothers University Guest Artist Series and this spring will be performing on the Avanti Young Artists Series in Memphis. In addition to his guitar studies at the University of Memphis, Mr. Grall has also completed extensive studies in musicology. Mr. Grall is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in guitar performance at the University of Memphis. Mr. Grall’s dissertation combines his interests in musicology, music theory, and performance and is tentatively titled “16th Century Improvisation in the Ostinato Dance Forms: A Modern Model to Improvising the Early Folias de Espana for the Guitar, Vihuela, and Lute.”
A versatile musician, Mr. Grall also enjoys performing in jazz, rock, and soul genres. In his free time, he is an enthusiastic triathlete and recently completed the Ironman USA and Ironman Wisconsin triathlons.
Della Bustamante, Adjunct Music Instructor
Della, born and raised in New Mexico, has been performing since the age of nine. She sang in a country and western band from the age of 13 to 23, and began her classical performing at the age of 15. She earned both her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Vocal Performance at New Mexico State University. Della made her opera debut with Dona Ana Lyric Opera (DALO) as a chorus member for their production of Don Giovanni. Since then she has performed the roles of Pamina in The Magic Flute, Suzanna in The Marriage of Figaro, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, all with DALO. In addition to these roles, she has performed many scenes from several other operas, including the role of Isabel Chaparro in the world premier of the opera Sara McKinnon by Randall Shinn. When she first moved to Nashville, four and a half years ago, Della joined the staff at Belmont Academy, teaching classical and commercial voice. She served as a member of the Nashville Symphony Chorus for two seasons, and has recently completed her seventh production as a continuing member of the Nashville Opera Chorus. She has been teaching voice for over seven years. Her teaching style is based on the classical technique and she offers commercial coaching. Della is looking forward to her first year as an adjunct instructor at the Nashville State Community College Music Program.
Alex Powell, Adjunct Music Instructor.
Alex Powell holds a M.M. in vocal performance from Belmont University and a B.A. in music and history from the University of Notre Dame. His experience spans a wide variety of musical genres, from opera roles and singing in the London Symphony Chorus, to performing at Dollywood and working on Nashville's Music Row. He has taught private voice lessons for almost six years and continues to perform as a tenor soloist. Alex serves as an adjunct faculty member for Nashville State Community College and works in the Special Education department of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College.
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