Learn about Nora
Nora Mosrie is a professional visual and performing artist who is committed to integrating the arts into education and community events. She is dedicated to sharing her passion and enthusiasm for the arts with intergenerational audiences through educational programming, theater, music performances and art exhibits. Nora believes that education through the arts is a powerful tool in building relationships, developing critical thinking skills, transforming lives and fostering positive change.
Visual art, music, acting, and dance are interwoven within Nora’s artistic journey. She has many years of performing experience in a variety of music genres and styles including solo work, ensemble and musical theatre. Nora is both a vocalist and instrumentalist with a primary focus on piano, guitar and the mountain dulcimer.
Nora has enjoyed working in a collaborative effort with local and regional organizations to provide diverse accessible learning opportunities in the visual and performing arts within communities in the Southern Appalachian region. She is a former teaching artist for Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia and continues an ongoing partnership with McDowell Arts Council, crescendo! Piano in the Classroom, Asheville Community Theatre, Asheville Art Museum and Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, Nora is a music director for McDowell Children’s Theatre and Tanglewood Youth Productions at Asheville Community Theatre.
Nora received an M.A. in Studio Art and a B.A. in Arts Education from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
Learn about Gina
Gina enjoys working hands-on with people of all ages, but especially children. She played clarinet and bass clarinet in band in school, and took private piano and vocal lessons. Gina acknowledges the importance of music education and is beyond grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of a program that introduces kids to a creative outlet that is fun and freeing. Music also engages many parts of the brain and creates a positive impact that these kids would not have access to in school without crescendo! Piano in the Classroom. Gina is honored to know that she is positively influencing children’s lives.
Learn about Dominic
A native of Old Fort, NC, Dominic has been playing piano since the age of 7 and has performed in a number of events and concerts including with the Asheville Youth Symphony orchestra in 2018-19. He placed first in the Advanced category of the Asheville Piano Competition in 2017 and 2019, received honorable mention in the 2018 Hayes School of Music Young Artist Competition, and won 2nd place in the 2018 Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra “Young Artist Competition.” Dominic went on to teach both private and group piano lessons for the Piano Lab studios in Asheville. He currently serves on the board of the Asheville Area Piano Forum. Dominic is also an award-winning video creator and films content for businesses, non-profits, and sports organizations. He has also played soccer with UPSL team Asheville FC and enjoys mountain biking.
Learn about Clara
Clara is a philosophy major at Warren Wilson College. She studied piano and violin, played flute and piccolo in school, and plays bass guitar in her college band. She is the staff cartoonist for The Echo Newspaper. She enjoys drawing, writing, knitting, and all sorts of miscellaneous art projects. She worked as an assistant teacher at the John C. Campbell Little-Middle Folk School. When her college breaks overlap with schools in McDowell County, she enjoys working with kids in the crescendo! program.
Learn about Ivan
Ivan is currently a student at McDowell Technical Community College. He studied piano, played trombone in school band, and plays electric guitar. He has been working with students since the 2024-’25 school year at both Old Fort Elementary School and North Cove Elementary School. In his free time he enjoys fishing and spending time with friends.
Learn about Ruth
Ruth has taught piano and voice, private and group, and directed choirs for over 30 years. She enjoys guiding students in discovering their musical gifts. “The joy on their faces and excitement in mastering a new song or skill is rewarding as a teacher.”
Ruth has a Bachelors of Music and a Masters of Music in Piano Pedagogy. She began teaching in the 3-5 grade piano classes at North Cove Elementary School during the 2024-’25 school year. “It has been a joy working with all levels of students.”
Creator
Learn about Nathan
Classical composer & pianist Nathan Shirley has received one national and six international awards for his solo, chamber, and orchestral compositions. As a teenager he studied composition with Olga Harris, the last student of Khachaturian. Shirley’s music has been performed in over a dozen countries around the world and is available on CD, DVD, and online. He is the author of Piano Revealed, a seven-book piano method featuring his original compositions. He is also the creator and director of crescendo! Piano in the Classroom. A former president of the Asheville Piano Forum, Shirley lives in the mountains of North Carolina.