Louise Bass and James Mellichamp Organ Scholarship
Louise Bass studied organ performance at Indiana University and Oklahoma City University, where she was a finalist in the Ottumwa (Iowa) National Organ Competition. Bass has also studied extensively in Paris with renowned organist Susan Landale. She travels frequently as an accompanist for vocal and instrumental musicians, and has performed at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, St. James Cathedral in Chicago, and for the American Guild of Organists.
As an experienced church musician, she served as the associate organist-choir director at the Cathedral Church of St. John in Albuquerque. Bass also served as adjunt instructor of music at the University of New Mexico, and as artist-in-residence at Piedmont College, playing organ for the Piedmont College Singers and various faculty and student performances.
James F. Mellichamp is a Doctoral graduate of the Jacobs School in 1982. Before receiving his doctorate, Mellichamp received his Bachelor of Music from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, and was a recipient of an international organ scholarship at the Hochschule für Musik in Herford, Germany. His performance career as an organist spans forty years with appearances throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He has performed in the Washington Cathedral, Berlin Cathedral, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
Currently, Mellichamp serves as the 13th President of Piedmont College, a private liberal-arts institution in Demorest and Athens, Georgia. At Piedmont, he previously served as Department Chair, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Provost. He continues his teaching on the organ as a Professor of Music at Piedmont where he first began teaching in 1982.
The Jacobs School of Music is honored to award the Louise Bass and James F. Mellichamp Organ Scholarship to undergraduate and graduate students majoring in Organ at the Jacobs School.