Professor of History

amos.n1@lynchburg.edu

Professor Amos joined the University of Lynchburg in 2005.

Biography: Naomi Amos joined Westover Honors Program in spring 2011, teaching seminars and colloquia in the arts. She has collaborated with a number of faculty members creating the Honors Fine Arts Seminar, “Made in America, the 1930’s.” She has also initiated several colloquia, including “The American Songbook” (a study of American popular song), and “Patriotism, Protest, and Social Change in the 20th Century”, through music and film. Her specialty is music and related arts, but her courses utilize an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach, creating historical, social, and economic context. Amos has spent her career as a professional pianist, coach and accompanist for opera, dance collaborator, and composer for a variety of contemporary theatre productions. Amos received her BA at the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, and her Master of Music at the Eastman. Her primary piano teachers were Jose Echaniz and Lili Kraus. She has taught in the music departments of Wesleyan University and Trinity College, both in Connecticut. Her areas of expertise include European music history, American music, and piano literature. Recent activities include a series of lecture-recitals entitled, “American Piano Music: The Effects of the Melting Pot,” and lectures about George Gershwin, citing his role as a pivotal composer in the development of American culture as a world export. She has performed at Baldwin-Wallace College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, East Tennessee University, the University of Richmond, Colorado State University at Pueblo, Weber State in Nebraska, and most recently in Chapel Hill, NC. and Washington, D.C. Her collaborations include Randolph College poet, Jim Peterson, and dancers, Judy Dworin, Trinity College and Keith Lee, Lynchburg Dance Theater; she has worked with numerous theatre directors, including Arthur Feinsod, Indiana State University, and theatre director, Josh Karter, for whom she created music designs for eight theatre productions at Trinity College.

Naomi Amos and Noemi Lee have performed four-hand piano recitals throughout Central Virginia for the last four years. In addition, Amos has been accompanist for numerous productions of Opera on the James (main stage and educational outreach), and coach and accompanist for local artists including recitals with soprano, Alicia Carter, University of Lynchburg faculty. She is music director for congregation Agudath Sholom’s High Holy Days services, and teaches piano at James River Day School. In addition to her courses in the Honors Program, she also teaches in the College Senior Symposium program. Amos finds special joy in the students in Westover Honors program, saying “There is nothing so rewarding as teaching a group of curious, energetic students who love to be challenged. For so many, the arts are a great unknown. It is so invigorating to introduce sounds, concepts, and great art to these appreciative bright young people.”

In her spare time (which is minimal), she enjoys her mixed breed small dog, BoBo (named after a tuba player), reading (she is in two book groups), and playing bridge. She is committed to being an active participant in the Lynchburg community and is currently serving on three boards: Agudath Sholom Congregation, Riverviews Artspace, and Forte Chamber Music. Her two adult children live in NYC and Los Angeles, making travel an absolute necessity during vacations.

Education

• MM — Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
• BA — Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester