Dr. Nathan Hess joins the applied piano faculty at Ithaca College this Fall 2009, specializing in piano performance, chamber music, and group piano. He has appeared in concert to critical acclaim throughout the United States and Europe in solo, chamber, and concerto settings. Hess has performed concerti with the Erie Chamber Orchestra, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and York Symphony Orchestra, among others. Recent guest appearances and masterclasses have included Syracuse University, East Carolina University, Oberlin College Conservatory, Mt. Union College, and Buffalo State College. 

Hess holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, from James Madison University, where he was named a Presser Scholar. His teachers have included Elizabeth Pridonoff, Eugene Pridonoff, Eric Ruple, and Jane Coop, and he has performed in masterclasses for such luminaries as John Browning, James Tocco, and Emanuele Arciuli.

In demand as a chamber musician, he has performed with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Cleveland Pops, Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Erie Philharmonic. His chamber music coaches have included Jane Coop, Ronald Copes, Seymour Lipkin, Sandra Rivers, Marian Hahn, Charles Neidich, Kenneth Griffiths, Lee Fiser, and eighth blackbird. Hess has also acted as orchestral pianist with the Erie Philharmonic.

Hess performed in and produced a set of recordings for the textbook Harmony in Context, published by McGraw-Hill. During the summer he heads the piano program at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts (PGSA) in Erie, teaching applied piano, chamber music, music theory, and music history. His piano students from PGSA have attended institutions such as Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin College Conservatory, Eastman School of Music, Temple University, University of Cincinnati, and Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to teaching and performing, Dr. Hess is active in MTNA and also adjudicates frequently throughout the region and East Coast. He has adjudicated the NYSMTA Young Artist Piano, Senior Piano, and Junior Piano Competitions, as well as the Empire Competition. Prior to his appointment at Ithaca College, Dr. Hess taught on the piano faculties at Mercyhurst College and SUNY Fredonia. He can be heard on the Centaur label in a recording with flutist Susan Royal.