Dana O. Ragsdale
Professor of Music
D.M.A., Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
M.M., University of Hartford
B.M., University of Denver
E-mail: Dana.Ragsdale@usm.edu
Piano Department
Dr. Dana Ragsdale is professor of harpsichord and piano and director of the Collegium Musicum (Southern Arts Pro Musica) at Southern Miss. Having played her New York debut recital in 1977 in Weil Recital Hall, she also has been a guest artist on the Winterfest Concerts and with the Fiati Chamber Players in New York City. A participant in the Performing Arts Touring program (1986-1989), sponsored by the Southern Arts Federation, Dr. Ragsdale also has made numerous appearances at Piccolo Spoleto USA in Charleston, S.C. (1983-1995).
She has performed on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, and in harpsichord festivals at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1994, she toured the United States with the Vivaldi Orchestra of Moscow, an all-women chamber orchestra from Russia.
Dr. Ragsdale has collaborated with several world-renowned early music artists, including Steven Rosenberg, recorder, and Julianne Baird, soprano. Promenade, the Southern Miss faculty Baroque ensemble that includes Dr. Ragsdale, may be heard on a compact disc, Music from the Court of Versailles.
A recent Albany Records compact disc release, featuring the works by the American composer Samuel Adler, include a performance of his chamber work, Acrostics, performed by Dr. Ragsdale and four Southern Miss School of Music colleagues.