Music

List of 5 members.

• 

  Mr. Jordan Frederick 

  Band Director

  Boston University - MME
  Austin Peay State University - BS

  At MBA since 2016

  BIO

  Jordan is an educator and saxophonist in the Nashville area. He instructs the Jazz Bands at MBA. In addition, he works with the jazz combos, Big Red Rocks (the MBA Rock Band) and guest lectures in courses regarding musical history and influence. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Austin Peay State University where he was the single recipient for the Pressor Music Scholarship and the Distinguished Undergraduate Award for the Music Department. Jordan received a fellowship to study conducting with the legendary Frank Battisti and Craig Kirchoff at the University of Minnesota.
  
  Jordan performs regularly with several groups in the Nashville area with genres ranging from jazz, rock, R&B, funk and blues. He has performed at venues such as the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and Third and Lindsley, amongst others. Jordan is a member of MTSBOA, the Tennesee Bandmaster’s Association, and has served as equipment chair for TNMEA at the All-State Conference. Jordan frequently serves as a guest clinician for bands across Tennessee teaching conducting, saxophone and other woodwind instruments.
  
  In addition to his musical responsibilities, Jordan is an Eagle Scout and avid outdoorsman - he enjoys hiking, camping and backpacking.
• 

  Mrs. Jan (Sadler) Pippin 

  Band Director, Track & Field Head Coach

  x282

  University of Tennessee
  Austin Peay State University - BS
  Austin Peay State University - MM

  At MBA since 1998

  BIO

  Jan Pippin – Jan spends her time at MBA teaching band classes and coaching varsity track and field. She also works with jazz combos and Big Red Rocks, the MBA rock band. Before coming to MBA, she taught for six years in the Metro Nashville Davidson County Public Schools while coaching track and field at The Harpeth Hall School. She is a bassoonist who still plays in ensembles such as The Nashville Praise Symphony.
  
  
  Jan attended The University of Tennessee at Knoxville where she played in the concert band, studio orchestra, woodwind choir, bassoon ensemble and The Pride of the Southland Marching Band, while also competing on the Lady Vols track and field team, but finished her B.S in music education and earned a Masters of Music from Austin Peay State University. She is a member of the  Middle Tennessee Band and Orchestra Association, National Association for Music Education and The Tennessee Bandmasters Association.
  
  
  Jan’s favorite color is Volunteer orange and she loves eating poke with rice on any Hawaiian beach. She has three children, two boys and a girl, of whom she is very proud. Her dogs’ names are Slinky and Zeus and her bird is named Tiki who talks and sings.
• 

  Mr. Matt Smyth 

  Associate Dean of the High School; Choir Director; Rock Climbing Head Coach

  Moravian College - BMA
  University of Oklahoma - MM

  At MBA since 2022
• 

  Miss Grace Warnock 

  Choir Teacher

  University of Tennessee Knoxville - Bachelor of Music

  At MBA since 2023
• 

  Mrs. Nikki Wilson 

  Orchestra Director

  Georgia State University - MM
  The University of Memphis - BM

  At MBA since 2019

  BIO

  Mrs. Nikki Wilson has been immersed in her two favorite things throughout her music career – performing and teaching strings.  Mrs. Wilson joined the faculty of MBA in 2019, and prior to that, she offered group and private violin and viola instruction at St. Paul Christian Academy, Belmont Academy, and Lipscomb Academy.   She also conducted the string orchestras of the Ethos Youth Ensembles in Murfreesboro, TN, as well as offered private violin lessons for the Music Academy at First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro.  

   

  Mrs. Wilson also maintains an active performance schedule.   She has performed nationally at the Hot Springs Music Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic, and the New Atlanta Philharmonic.  She has also performed abroad at the Bayerische Musikacademie in Marktoberdorf, Germany.  Mrs. Wilson has been blessed to share the stage with some truly outstanding musicians, such as Amy Grant, Arturo Sandoval, Ricky Skaggs, Wynonna Judd, Ilya Kyler, Pip Clarke, The Temptations, the Pointer Sisters, and The O’Jays.  She currently performs with the Parthenon Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble that won third prize in the American Prize Competition for Orchestral Performance in the Community Orchestra Division.  She is also privileged to participate in her church band at Faith is the Victory Church.

   

  Nikki Wilson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the Rudi E. Schiedt School of Music at the University of Memphis and a Master’s degree in Violin Performance from the Georgia State University School of Music.  Her former teachers include Dr. Nancy Schechter of the Alea String Quartet, Susan Waterbury of the Cavani String Quartet, and Gerald Greer, Assistant Concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony.

   

  Mrs. Wilson enjoys combining all of the different styles of music she has had the privilege to study and perform.  In between spending time with her husband and her family, or curling up on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea, she is always thinking of ways to use her knowledge and skills to create a wonderful classroom experience for her students.