Tanner Winchester 

Tanner Winchester began his piano studies with Sharon Stricklin (Cinq-Mars) at the age of seven. He continued his piano studies with Dr. Paul Nitsch and Ginger Wyrick, both of Queens University of Charlotte. In 2010, he began studies with Dr. Richard McKee of Campbell University and Dr. Kent Lyman of Meredith College. Through his work with Dr. Nitsch, Tanner is a sixth-generation student in the pedagogical lineage of Ludwig van Beethoven. In addition to his formal studies, Tanner has participated in masterclasses with Leon Fleisher, Hector Moreno, Francesco Attesti, David Higgs, and coaching with Dr. David Baskeyfield.

 

A three-time recipient of the Robert Stigall Organ Scholarship, awarded by the Charlotte Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), Tanner studied organ with Nancy Watson and subsequently with Ginger Wyrick, both of Queens University of Charlotte. He also received additional scholarships from the Durham-Chapel Hill AGO chapter, Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum, Queens University of Charlotte, and other endowments for the arts. As a young competitor, he earned consistent superior ratings from both the National Federation of Music Clubs and the North Carolina Music Teachers Association.

 

In 2015, Tanner served as a collaborative pianist for the International Young Artists Project in Monte San Savino, Italy, performing Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Puccini’s Suor Angelica in collaboration with faculty from Meredith College and the University of Toledo. During this residency, he studied with Francesco Attesti and Hector Moreno of the Conservatorio di Siena and collaborated with Maestro Federico Bardazzi and Maestro Paolo Bellocci.

 

In May 2017, Tanner performed Dan Goeller's work, In His Own Words, as part of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany, in collaboration with the choir and orchestra of Colonial Baptist Church, Cary, NC, and The Master's Seminary, Los Angeles, CA.

 

Most recently, he appeared as soloist in George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the East Carolina Musical Arts and Education Foundation in Greenville, NC.

 

Tanner is active as a collaborative pianist/organist and interim music director for churches, orchestras, and schools in Virginia and throughout North and South Carolina. He has performed with the North Carolina Symphony and as a collaborative pianist with musicians in the North Carolina Symphony, the Durham Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, the Raleigh Flute Choir, and the Union Symphony and has served as accompanist for Theatre Raleigh.

 

In addition to performing, Tanner is active as an adjudicator, recording engineer, and member of the American Choral Directors Association, Royal College of Organists, and currently serves as the Dean of the Central North Carolina Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.