Liza DiSavino

Elizabeth DiSavino Professor DiSavino is a lifelong educator, performer, and scholar.  She is a two-time recipient of the Geraldine R. Dodge Master Teacher designation, and teacher of music in public and private schools for 29 years.   She has been  an associate professor of music at Berea College in Berea Kentucky for fifteen years, where she teaches  music education, applied music (piano, horn, and Appalachian instruments), and directs the Celebration of Traditional Music.  Professor DiSavino is a practitioner of classical music, traditional music, early jazz, and folk music; her classical training includes an M.M in French horn performance from the Manhattan School of Music and over 25 performances in Carnegie Hall.  She is also a winner of several national songwriting competitions and is half of the acoustic duo Liza and A.J.  Her biography Katherine Jackson French: Kentucky’s Forgotten Ballad Collector won the 2020 Kentucky History Award, was featured on “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio, and was included in the Birthplace of Country Music Museum exhibit, “I’ve Endured:  Women in Old Time Music.”   

Professional Experience, Education

Current Position:

Assistant Professor Music, Berea College, Berea KY (2011–2019)

Associate Professor of Music, BereaCollege, Berea, KY (2019–present)

Former Experience:

Department Chair and Music Teacher, instructor K–12 choirs and general music, Cherry Valley Public Schools, Cherry Valley, NY 

• Students placed annually in All-County Choir and Area All-State for high school, junior high school, and Elementary choir
• Students achieved Superior and Excellent ratings at NYSSMA solo competitions for high school, junior high School, and elementary voice
• High school choir competed and won at Music in the Parks competition 

• Music Teacher, 6-12 choirs and general music, Bainbridge-Guilford Central Schools, Bainbridge, NY. 
  • Students placed in All–State, Area All State and All-County groups yearly
  • Students achieved Superior and Excellent ratings at NYSSMA solo competitions
  • Jazz Choir competed at the Berklee School of Music High School Jazz Competition, placing best among public schools in their category 
  • High school and middle schoolchoirs competed and won at Music in the Parks competition 

• Music Teacher, PK-2 general musicand choir, Nishuane Magnet School for the Gifted and Talented, Montclair, NJ
  • Blue Ribbon School ; recognized as one of the top fifteen arts programs in the country by the Department of Education.  Composed over 75 childrens' musicals as part of the program.

• Instrumental Music Director, Montessori School, 3-8, Whitby School, Greenwich, CT

• Music Teacher, 9-12 choir, Sidney Central School District, Sidney, NY. Started a men’s choir, women’s choir, and jazz choir. Students placed in All-State Choir and Area All-State

• Instructor, Common Groundon the Hill Folk Arts School (summer) Instruction in guitar,singing, brass band, pennywhistle, and country dance band

M.M. Manhattan School of Music, New York, NY.  French horn performance.

B.A. Montclair State College, Montclair, NJ in Music Education.

B.S. program in Music Education, two years, Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio

Aspen Music Festival, three years, orchestral program

Waterloo Music Festival, one year, orchestral program

Eastern Music Festival, two years, orchestral program

Colorado Philharmonic, one year, orchestral program (repertoire orchestra)

National Orchestra of New York, three years (repertoire orchestra)

Private voice studies with Janie Barnett and Jean McClelland

Diploma, Institute of Children's Literature

Certificate, Italian Language and Culture: Beginner, Wellesley College