Louis Playford, DMA

Louis Playford is a native of Augusta, Georgia, and a graduate of the Academy of Richmond County. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in Music from Syracuse University, a Graduate Diploma from Saint Louis Conservatory of Music and a D.M.A. from American Conservatory of Music, all in piano. Additional studies were at Augusta College, l'Ecole Hindemith in Switzerland, Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University, VanderCook College of Music and the Sherwood Music School.

His piano teachers include Joseph Kalichstein, Josef Raieff, George Pappastavrou, Michael Ruiz and Vola Jacobs. He studied organ with Jack C. Goode, Will Headlee, Jamie Council Garvey, Kathleen Thomerson and John Schaeffer, and chamber music with Joseph Kalichstein and Leslie Parnas. In masterclasses he has played for Pierre Souvairan, Daniel Ericourt, Ruth Slenczynska, Gillian Weir and Warren Hutton.

He has appeared variously as pianist, organist and harpsichordist with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theatre, Ars Musica Chicago, the West Suburban Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest Symphony Orchestra, the Columbia County Choral Society, Aiken Masterworks Chorale and The Cecilia Ensemble, and has performed at the Westobou Festival and for the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society.

In addition to his work in the Department of Music at Augusta University, Playford teaches piano in the Conservatory Program and serves as organist at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church in West Columbia, S.C. His interests include pedal piano and early piano recordings.