Blair Master Series: Conner, McGann, Geissler Trio at Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University

About the performers: Heather Conner, a Steinway Artist, is Chancellor’s Chair of Piano at the Blair School of Music. An internationally active recitalist and chamber musician, Conner has performed at major venues including Steinway Hall in New York, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto, and has appeared in concert throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. A prizewinner at numerous competitions, including the Hilton Head Island International Piano Competition and the Kingsville International Young Performers Competition, she has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and recorded for the Naxos and Centaur labels. Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she holds a doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music and a bachelor of music from the Curtis Institute of Music. In 2025, Conner was inducted into the prestigious Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on North America’s most committed and passionate music educators. Christina McGann has been a featured performer at the Kennedy Center, the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, New York City’s Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Bargemusic, and at various venues throughout the US, Korea, El Salvador, and Europe. Equally at home on both violin and viola, McGann enjoys a multi-faceted musical career. She is currently faculty at the Blair School at Vanderbilt University where she teaches violin, viola, chamber music and Pedagogy. She is also concertmaster of the Nashville Opera Orchestra, concertmaster of the Owensboro Symphony, and frequently performs recitals and chamber music. McGann holds both B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School, where she was accepted with Presidential Distinction. She also completed her doctoral degree at SUNY Stony Brook. Cellist Max Geissler is a highly sought-after chamber collaborator, educator, and performer. He currently serves as assistant professor of cello at East Tennessee State University as well as the co-artistic director and cellist of the new music sextet Latitude 49. He holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Rice University working as Desmond Hoebig’s teaching assistant, as well as a bachelor’s degree from his studies with Richard Aaron at the University of Michigan. Geissler has given masterclasses at schools such across the continent as SUNY Fredonia, The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, University of Calgary, and Baylor University.