Bryan K. Underwood
Bryan Underwood (pianist), is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Princeton, New Jersey. His studies included piano performance (Ina Bronstein, and Harold Zabrack), and collaborative piano (Dalton Baldwin, and Glen Parker). As a member of the Westminster Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir, performances included collaborations with the Philadelphia Orchestra, American Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Princeton University Symphony Orchestra.
As rehearsal pianist, he has worked under the direction of many conductors including Joseph Flummerfelt, Riccardo Mutti, Charles Bruffy (multiple Grammy Award winning conductor of the Kansas City Chorale), Scott Tucker (Artistic Director, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC), and Dr. Allyss Haecker (St. Olaf College).
He presently serves as collaborative pianist for Emory & Henry College, East Tennessee State University, East Tennessee’s Symphony of the Mountains and Voices of the Mountains, the Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy, Appalachian Men’s Ensemble and Cantemus Women’s Choir.
Bryan is part of the full-time staff of State Street United Methodist Church in Bristol, VA and serves as the Music and Worship Coordinator. He is a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association and BMI.
Erin E. Raines
Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Milligan, where she studied piano under the instruction of Mrs. Anne B. Elliott; accompanied the Milligan College Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. Noah DeLong, Mr. Douglas Grove-DeJarnett, and Dr. David Hendricksen; and examined vocal technique as taught by Dr. Charlotte Anderson. Erin is currently working towards a Master of Divinity at Emmanuel Christian Seminary in preparation for a lifetime of using music to encourage and enrich lives. Any given day of the week, you will find Erin accompanying soloists and ensembles at Milligan and ETSU and in local schools and churches.
Joy Nagy
Joy Nagy has been a free-lance musician in the Tri-Cities area since she moved to Tennessee in 1993. In addition to her involvement with Cantemus, she has performed as a collaborative pianist for Milligan University, ETSU, Dobyns-Bennett High School, and in numerous concert events throughout the region. Joy has also been active onstage, in the pit, on the podium, and behind the scenes in community theatre for over 30 years, with recent appearances in Steel Magnolias, Mamma Mia! and the 1940s USO Shows at Jonesborough Repertory Theatre. She has served on several non-profit boards in the community including Cantemus, Civic Chorale, Glasgow Theatre Company, and various educational organizations. Joy holds a degree in Business Management from the College of William and Mary and is currently employed by Eastman Chemical Company.
Lauren Ramey
Dr. Lauren Ramey is the Associate Director of Choral Activities and Director of Music Education at East Tennessee State University where she conducts BucsWorth Tenor Bass Choir and Greyscale. She also teaches courses in choral conducting and music education.
Prior to her appointment at ETSU, Dr. Ramey served as assistant conductor for the Florida State University Chamber Choir, the graduate-level choral ensemble. She was also the assistant conductor for the FSU University Singers, Levana (SSAA), Choral Union, and the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Additionally, Dr. Ramey worked with undergraduate and graduate choral conducting courses.
Before her doctoral studies, Dr. Ramey was the Director of Choirs and AP Music Theory at Ravenwood High School (Brentwood, Tennessee). Under her direction, the Ravenwood Choirs performed at the 2019 Music For All National Concert Festival and the 2017 and 2019 Tennessee Music Educators Association Conferences. During her public school teaching tenure, Ramey was a recipient of the CMA Music Teacher of Excellence Award and was a quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award. In addition to teaching at Ravenwood, Dr. Ramey was the assistant conductor of the Nashville Symphony Chorus from 2017-2019.
Dr. Ramey is originally from Dayton, Ohio and attended the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Music Education/Piano Performance and a Master of Education (Choral) degree. In 2022, Dr. Ramey earned a Ph.D. in Music Education/Choral Conducting from Florida State University, where she studied with Dr. Michael Hanawalt, Dr. Kevin Fenton, and Dr. Kari Adams.