Deborah Svedman loves the piano and most everyone who plays piano. She earned a degree in Piano Performance, but became a high school math teacher. She won several state and national teaching awards, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. She was named an Exemplary Teacher by the U.S. Department of Education and was the first National Board Certified Teacher in El Paso, Texas. Deborah’s leadership skills were developed by being a math department chair, a math consultant, a bilingual education instructor at the University of Texas at El Paso, and the Coordinator for the National Board Resource Center in El Paso. Ms. Svedman spent five years volunteering for a piano festival and competition in Colorado, where she was responsible for organizing and scheduling several rounds of competition plus festival events such as masterclasses, presentations and recitals, website maintenance, creating event emails, correspondence with competitors, chauffeuring guest artists, and a host of other duties.

Ms. Svedman currently is the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Lewisville Lake Symphony in Lewisville, Texas. Her duties there include coordinating their two annual music competitions and writing program notes for the symphony concerts. Ms. Svedman has a small collection of pianos in her home, including an 1873 Steinway Monitor Grand, an 1828 Thomas Gibson pianoforte, a 1903 Hamilton Cabinet Grand, plus an 1892 Chicago Champion pump organ.