About us
Mission Statement
The Delta Music Teachers Association is 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization. It exists to support, connect, and inspire independent and institutional educators in the region. As an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association, our mission is to elevate music teaching and learning through professional development, collaboration, student enrichment opportunities, and a commitment to artistic and pedagogical excellence.
Board Members
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
Maria DeBacco
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.


Maeve Brophy
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


