Bethany Merritt
Commercial Voice Instructor
College of Music & Performing Arts
Bachelor’s in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Performance from Belmont University, Masters of Music in Jazz Performance as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Colorado
bethany.merritt@adjuncts.belmont.eduBiography
After earning her Bachelor’s in Commercial Music with an emphasis in Performance from Belmont University, Bethany began working on Mackinac Island, Michigan as the vocalist at the Grand Hotel alongside Dr. Alex Graham. There, she fronted the Grand Hotel Jazz Orchestra nightly for three seasons. In May of 2017, Bethany earned her Masters of Music in Jazz Performance as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Colorado, where she studied with Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison. In addition to her work as director of Company at Belmont, Bethany teaches commercial voice at Lipscomb University and teaches voice and directs a vocal jazz ensemble at Nashville State Community College. Bethany is certified in the Somatic Voicework™ The Lovetri Method.
Bethany is a seasoned jazz vocalist and can be found gigging locally as a soloist and with the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra. In 2019, Bethany was nominated for the Nashville Industry Music Award for Best Jazz Vocalist. She has sung background vocals for The New York Voices, Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds with the National Symphony Orchestra, Hans Zimmer, Josh Groban, and Aubrey Logan. She has received 3 Downbeat awards for her work in vocal jazz ensembles. She also performs nationwide with her husband, singer/songwriter and fellow Belmont SOM alumni, Bryce Merritt.