About Us
Founder/President
Lisa Fairchild Ramirez
Lisa Fairchild Ramirez received her Masters Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Memphis in 2005, where she also earned the coveted Performers' Certificate. Her teachers include Samuel Viviano, Genaro Santoro, Sheila Paige, Nina Drath, and her mother, Judith Fairchild. Ms Ramirez has won numerous national and international piano competitions and has performed solo concerts across the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall.
She has performed concerti with symphonies in Dallas, Kansas City, Paducah, and Memphis. Ms Ramirez has been an adjudicator for competitions in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. She was a church organist and choir director for 15 years and is an accomplished organist and harpsichordist.
She has written pedagogical material that has been published in the Music Teachers National Association magazine. She has dedicated her life to teaching children, and her students are widely known for their high levels of achievement in performance and competition. She lives in Cordova with her husband and daughter.
Vice President
Ashley Shearin
Ms. Maria brings decades of experience as a distinguished pianist and educator. She holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Memphis.
She has served in a variety of academic and community roles, including:
Suzuki Piano Instructor and Program Coordinator at the University of Memphis Community Music School.
Piano Instructor at Wesleyan College’s Center for the Arts (Macon, GA)
Visiting Associate Professor of Music at Georgia College & State University (Milledgeville, GA), teaching piano lessons for majors and non-majors as well as Music Appreciation
Adjunct Instructor of Music at Macon State College (Macon, GA)
With her deep knowledge of both performance and pedagogy, Ms. Maria serves as the musical heart of our program, ensuring that every recital reflects excellence, empathy, and connection to our origins.
Secretary/ Treasurer
Maria DeBacco
Adam Booher, Member
Pianist Adam Booher serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Freed-Hardeman University, where he teaches applied piano, music history, and music literature. Booher has been published in College Music Symposium and American Music Teacher, and he has presented at the College Music Society Southern Chapter Conference, the Tennessee State Music Teachers Association Conference, the Florida State Music Teachers Association Conference, and the Hispanic Heritage Festival at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Booher is the national coordinator of MTNA’s Senior Performance Competitions. He regularly adjudicates competitions and performs at conferences, festivals, and university recital series. Booher previously taught at Florida College, and in 2022, Booher’s collegiate freshman student won third place nationally in the MTNA Young Artist Composition Competition.
Booher received the M.M. in piano performance from Florida State University and is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in piano performance at the University of Memphis, studying with Jonathan Tsay. Previous teachers include Joel Hastings, Jerome Reed, and Helen Gleason.
Dr. Jenny Cao, Member
Dr. Rong (Jenny) Cao is a Memphis-based educator, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral cellist. A passionate performer, Dr. Cao has received many compliments from her performance in various events and concerts in the Memphis area and worldwide. Including playing the national anthem with the Bluff City Cello Ensemble for the NBA Grizzlies at Memphis’ FedEx Forum (2019 and 2022), invited as guest artist to give solo and chamber performance at Sarsburg Music Festival, Germany (2023), Elkhart Ruthmere Campus, Indiana (2025) Memphis Indie Movie Festival (2021) and Idlewild Church (2020). Dr. Cao also served as principal cellist at Delta Symphony Orchestra (2022-) and University of Memphis Orchestra (2019-2021). She served as a member of Lorraine String Quartet for many University of Memphis events. Before she moved to Memphis, Dr. Cao performed at several music festivals including the Tucson Jazz Music Festival (2019), the Tucson Cello Congress (2018,2019) and Shanghai Spring Music Festival (2016).
As an educator, she believes music education benefits all ages. Dr. Cao was the instructor of strings and the string program coordinator at Arkansas State University (2022-2025). She taught Applied Cello, Music Appreciation and Chamber Music at University of Memphis (2019-2022). She has also been the coach for chamber music at Interlochen Music Camp (2021), Music Appreciation Instructor at Arkansas State University Mid-South (2022), Cello coach at Collierville High School (2021-), Cello coach at Blue Lake Music Camp, and Cello Instructor at Arts for Life’s Sake in Memphis. Her research interest is focused on Cello works by women and female cellists. Her studio students are winners for TMTA competitions and All-state orchestra, All-west orchestra.
Dr. Cao holds Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Memphis, Master of Music Performance degree from University of Arizona and Bachelor of Music Performance East China Normal University.
Janice Lumpkin, Member
Janice Lumpkin operates a large private piano studio in DeSoto County, MS. With over 30 years teaching experience of students of all ages, her desire is to produce life-long musicians, encouraging students to have a passion for music. She is current President for TN Music Teachers Association (2025-2027), past president of the Greater Memphis Music Teachers Association (GMMTA) and awarded Teacher of the Year for 2015. She has served on the Executive Boards of GMMTA and TMTA since 2009, holding various positions. She received Teacher of the Year from Amro Music Store in 2015, where she also co-directed a technology teaching forum for music teachers.
She is a member of the National Guild and has adjudicated at local festivals and competitions for over 10 years. Many of her students participate in local festivals and auditions each year, earning superior ratings. She has been a church pianist for over 40 years. She regularly attends business and teaching workshops and conferences to further her continued education and stays current with music trends.
Maeve Brophy, Member
Maeve Brophy of Memphis, TN is Assistant Professor of Music at Rust College, where she teaches applied piano and class piano and also coaches and collaborates with vocalists, instrumentalists, and the Rust College A' Capella Choir. Ms. Brophy is also a collaborative pianist at the University of Memphis, where she performs with students, faculty, and guest artists, and she is the Head of Keyboard Studies at Brown Baptist Academy of Music in Southaven, MS, where she teaches piano to children, teenagers, and adults.
Assistant Professor of Music - Rust College
Collaborative Pianist - University of Memphis
Head of Piano Studies - Brown Academy of Music
Lucas Smith, Member
Lucas Smith is a Memphis native pianist who has performed in various venues and churches in and outside the area. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Memphis in May 2023. Smith has also studied abroad in Germany recently in the International Summer Academy of Music at the Landesakademie in Ochsenhausen.
In early 2023, He won the Rudi E. Scheidt School Of Music Soloist Competition for His performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no.1. Smith was recently featured in Focus magazine where he was described to have “an ability to conjure emotions out of pure sound”.
Smith currently resides in Memphis with his long time partner and beloved dog. He enjoys creating new ways in which music can communicate and touch the lives of people. He truly believes that music has the unique ability to heal people and give them a sense of peace in times of darkness.
Paula Ward, Member
Linda Wilson, Member
Pom Lim, Honorary Member, Community Outreach Liaison
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