PSU Alumna receives Fulbright award to compile anthology of Mexican piano music

School of Music & Theater Alumna Melissa Terrall has received a Fulbright García-Robles Open Study/Research Award that will enable her to study Mexican piano repertoire with Dr. David Rodriguez at the Conservatorio Nacional in Mexico City while concurrently auditing master’s courses in the conservatory’s master’s degree program in Mexican music. Terrall received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Portland State University in 2018, and went on to complete a Master of Music in Piano Performance degree at the University of Kansas in 2022. She works as a private piano teacher and collaborative pianist with soloists, choirs and orchestras. Additionally, she has worked as interim piano professor at Linfield University and Clark College.

“During my Fulbright year abroad, I will draw on the communication and performance skills I have developed during my work experience as I conduct research, audit classes, teach master classes in the pre-college conservatory program, and perform solo recitals of piano works by Mexican and U.S. composers around Mexico City.” Terrall said.

Terrall’s research will focus particularly on Mexican piano repertoire from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period known for the emergence and development of nationalism in Mexican art music.

“I am drawn to the diversity and beauty of Mexican music, and I want to learn to teach and perform these works with a culturally and historically robust approach," Terrall continued. "I want to contribute resources so that this repertoire is more accessible for pianists to perform and teach.”

A central focus of her Fulbright year will be to compile an anthology of Mexican piano works for future publication.

Terrall joins five PSU faculty members who received Fulbright awards for the 2023-24 academic year, including Tomás Cotik, associate professor of violin in the School of Music & Theater. 

Learn more about PSU’s Fulbright recipients.