Artina McCain

Artina McCain

Assistant Professor of Piano


Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis

Memphis, TN USA


For me as a performer, I’ve had to define myself and figure out ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What do I have that’s unique to give?’—in many ways, I don’t fit into the norm, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve to be there.

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Artina McCain

Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.
Growing up, she would always be singing around the house—turns out, she can’t sing, so her mother enrolled her in piano lessons when she was nine.
Even though she started playing piano relatively late by most standards, she fell in love with it and knew early on that she wanted to continue studying it throughout her life.
She attended a performing arts high school and then proceeded to complete bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in music.
Suffered a performance injury in her mid-20s that delayed her doctoral studies and prevented her from playing piano for nearly six years—she now advocates for performance injury prevention.
Says she often suffers from imposter syndrome and self-doubt, but makes an effort to capitalize on her unique strengths and focuses on the end goal.
Believes that she has a “divine purpose” to do what she does and that it is exactly what she is meant to be doing; uses this as her motivation to keep going.
Says that true success is taking whatever your skilled in and giving that back to the world—for her, being the best teacher she can be is how she pays it forward.
She now serves as an assistant professor of piano at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and enjoys an active career as a solo performer.
Keep following my journey

Career

Assistant Professor of Piano

I am a classically trained pianist, solo and chamber performer, educator, and lecturer.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Music
Education
Accomplishing Goals

Day to Day

Most of my days are spent in the classroom teaching my students various aspects of piano and helping them perfect their skills. I also perform at various events, give lectures on various topics, and advocate for causes I believe in.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for high school students

Figure out what you have a hunger for and what that thing is deep inside of you that you can't live without! Find mentors to help you along the way.

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

"You won't make it in this field because you are African-American and a woman."

Challenges I Overcame

Physical Issues