Meet Our Teachers
Nadia Carmichael
Doctor of Musical Arts
Born and raised in Bulgaria, Dr. Nadia Carmichael has been studying and performing piano since the age of six. She holds a Masters Degree in Piano Performance and Chamber Music from the University of South Florida and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Maryland, where she studied with the renowned pianist and pedagogue Rita Sloan.
For over 15 years, Dr. Carmichael has been teaching piano to students of all ages and backgrounds. She held faculty positions at the Collegiate School in NYC, the International School of Music in Bethesda, MD and the Jubilee Enrichment Program in Manhattan's Chinatown. In 2017 Nadia and her husband founded the Upper West Side Piano School in NYC, which quickly became a desired learning destination for children and adults alike. After relocating to Northern Virginia in 2020 Nadia and Sean started the Montclair Piano Academy.
As an active chamber recitalist and vocal collaborator Dr. Carmichael has appeared extensively throughout the United States and Europe. She serves as an accompanist for WorldStrides on Stage with frequent performances in Stern's Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Dr. Carmichael also has served as a staff pianist for the Aspen Music Festival and School. In her spare time, Nadia enjoys doing crafts, trying different cuisines and traveling with her husband and their son Leo.
Sean Carmichael
Doctor of Musical Arts
Dr. Sean Carmichael is currently serving as the pianist for the Quantico Marine Corps Band. Prior to joining the Marine Corp in 2019, Sean was the Director of Music and organist at Grace and St. Paul's Church in New York, NY. He completed a D.M.A. in Piano Performance at the University of Maryland. He received his Masters degree in Piano Performance from SUNY Potsdam, where he studied with pianist and renowned painter, Dr. Paul Wyse.
With a passion for teaching, Sean maintained a private piano studio at the International School of Music in Bethesda, MD, taught at the Jubilee Enrichment Program in New York, NY and spent three summers as piano faculty at the State University of New York at Potsdam's Crane Youth Music summer program, where he taught private lessons and led masterclasses. In March of 2017, he served on the adjudication panel for the 69th annual Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, which attracts over 150,000 students throughout the course of five weeks.
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A winner of the Crane Concerto Competition, he performed Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto with the Crane Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Sean has given solo performances at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Rubinstein Hall in Munich, Binghamton's Tri-Cities Opera Center, the Old Forge Arts Center and has toured New York State in a series of outreach performances presenting the Chopin Etudes and Preludes.