Faculty Pursuits: Week of Aug. 17, 2026

Cynthia Ramsdell (SMT accompanist) spent two and a half weeks in Columbus, assisting again with the All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir, overseeing the accompanying staff and serving as the Assistant Music Director. In addition to Cynthia, four 'Berg faculty and alumni also assisted with the 2026 Youth Choir. 

The choir draws high school students from all over Ohio to the Ohio Expo Center Fairgrounds for an intense week of rehearsing followed by 12 days of multiple concerts a day to thousands of fairgoers. Dr. Greg Ramsdell served on the conducting staff, while alumni Eric Evans '24 served as equipment staff manager, Emma Ramsdell Jordan '20 served on equipment staff, and Cole Miller '26 joined the equipment staff this summer. 

Additionally, Cynthia has taken on a number of professional development roles:

• She accepted a position with the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs as Chair of DMA/PhD and Master's Scholarships.
• She joined the National Guild of Piano Teachers through the American College of Musicians and had a student successfully earn her Paderewski medal.

• She will present a program at the Findlay Chapter of OMTA Ohio Music Teachers' Association in February 2027, with current Heidelberg piano majors on the topic of life as a piano major, including audition processes, what students wish they had known before college, and what advice they might give to future piano majors.