The Music Department is pleased to announce that Professor India D’Avignon has been elected the new chair of the department, succeeding W. Terrence Spiller. D’Avignon was elected to a three-year term by the department. Spiller is stepping down after serving 15 years as chair — see his “Message from the Chair” — and is looking forward to teaching for a few more years before retiring. D’Avignon will begin her position in September 2019.

D’Avignon oversees the department’s offerings in class piano. She holds a Master of Arts degree in piano pedagogy/choral conducting from Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad accompanying on the piano, harpsichord, fortepiano and harp.

She was formerly a professor of piano and chair of the piano and organ department at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where she also held a number of academic leadership posts. She has held the offices of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Mid-West Divisional Competition chair, international president for Phi Beta Delta — an honor society for international scholars — and chair of the undergraduate faculty at Capital University.

Please join us in welcoming D’Avignon as the Music Department’s new leader. She brings a wealth of experience to the position, as well as a great deal of optimism. We look forward to her leadership.