Dr. Lia Jensen-Abbott

Assistant Professor
Piano and Music Theory

Office: T-3, Goodrich Chapel
Phone: 517-629-0698
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: Diabellisquared.com

• D.M.A., Piano Performance, University of Nebraska-Lincoln;
• D.M.A., Piano Performance, University of Nebraska-Lincoln;
• Performer Diploma, Indiana University;
• M.M.and M.A., Piano and Music Theory, Pennsylvania State University;
• B.M., Piano Performance, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Dr. Lia Jensen-Abbott is an Associate Professor of Music at Albion College.  Awarded the Arthur Andersen New Faculty of the Year award in 2016 from Albion College, Lia is well known for her interdisciplinary lecture recitals based on semiotic analysis, Fanny Hensel, Florence Price, Beethoven and Anton Diabelli, and the connections between athletics and music.  Her solo and collaborative performances with Dr. Karen Kness have taken her around the United States, Europe, and Central America.  In 2012 she performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City.  

As a clinician and adjudicator, Lia has been invited to judge the MTNA National Finals in San Antonio and Chicago, and she has presented at the MTNA National Conference two times (Orlando and Baltimore) a CMS International Conference, and three WPTA Conferences.  Recently, Lia has recorded a three-volume CD set entitled The Albion College Diabelli Squared Project, which presents Beethoven’s Op. 120, the original Fifty Variations written for Anton Diabelli’s philanthropic project, and thirteen newly commissioned variations on the same Waltz theme.  

An active member of the Music Teachers National Association, Lia is now the Past President of the Michigan MTA. She is a member of the European Piano Teachers Association and the World Piano Teachers Association, and President of the WPTA Michigan Chapter. Lia earned degrees from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BM, DMA), Indiana University (Performer Diploma), and The Pennsylvania State University (MM, MA).  Her teachers have included Timothy Shafer, Edmund Battersby, and Mark Clinton.  She is a co-founder of the Albion College International Piano Festival and Competition and lives in Albion, Michigan with her husband, pianist Dr. David Abbott, her son Charlie, and two dogs.  In her spare time, Lia competes in triathlons, plays golf, and reads.