Biography

Grace Berardo (née McMullen) is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and organist in the Greenville, SC area. She earned her B.M. in Music Business at Berry College, and it was there that she began pursuing a career in collaborative piano. At Berry, Grace studied in the studios of Dr. Kris Carlisle (piano) and Mr. Steven Wooddell (organ). During her undergraduate degree, she gained experience collaborating with collegiate choirs, large ensembles, and soloists. She also performed for and helped music direct several theater productions both at Berry College and at a local community theater in Rome, GA.

Grace received her Masters of Music in Collaborative Piano from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville under the instruction of Dr. Kevin Class. While at UT she held an accompanying assistantship where some of her duties included coaching and accompanying VolOpera (the undergraduate opera scenes program) and the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre (UTOT). She also performed as a keyboardist for the University of Tennessee Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and accompanied a wide range of undergraduate and graduate students in both vocal and instrumental areas.

After graduating from UTK, Grace worked as a staff accompanist at her alma mater and as a freelancer in the greater Knoxville area. She also served as organist and pianist at Ball Camp Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN where she played both traditional and contemporary music styles on organ and piano. Grace has also frequently collaborated with local high school choirs, professional choirs, and voice studios, and has been a pianist for vocalists participating in both NATS and NATSAA competitions. She was recently engaged to perform a staged version of Franz Schubert's “Winterreise” with Marble City Opera, and she has had multiple UTK performances featured on Knoxville's local classical music station, 91.9 WUOT.

Grace is currently the Choral and Vocal Accompanist at Clemson University, where she plays for their four choral ensembles as well as all vocal performing arts majors. She continues to play for NATS competitions, freelance at churches, and teach private lessons on the side. She is also available for transcription and arranging work.