New musician joins Red Raven music department 

Talented harp player and pianist, Theresa Wheeler of Chetopa, Kan. has joined the Coffeyville Community College (CCC) Music Department as an accompanist and piano instructor.  Wheeler has played the piano since the fifth grade and although her siblings all stroked the ivory keys, it was Theresa who kept playing with the instrument.  When she was 14 she started teaching piano, something she continues today at a studio in Miami, Okla. and her home studio in Chetopa, Kan.  

Wheeler earned her associates degree from Northeastern Oklahoma University (NEO), before spending some time at Missouri Southern University (MSU) and finally finishing her bachelor’s degree in music piano performance from Pittsburg State University (PSU).  She continued her education at PSU and earned a masters degree in music piano performance and piano pedagogy (the art of teaching piano). 

Although she has played music most of her life, it wasn’t until she was a piano major at NEO that she fell in love with the harp. 

“I heard the teacher playing it (harp) and I fell in love with it,” said Wheeler.

She took harp lessons for 10 years and has played the string instrument professionally since 1986.  She performs at a lot of weddings, dinners, country clubs and has played at the Brown Mansion a number of times.

“I like teaching.  Everyone loves music, but creating music yourself is a whole different experience,” said Wheeler.  “There is no feeling like creating it yourself.  It is nice that at a small college students can have no prior knowledge in music and students can have the opportunity to start learning piano or harp as a beginner.” 

Wheeler has already had college students looking at the variety of harps in her office and they are excited at the new opportunity. 

The connection between the piano and the harp is not as difficult as it may look.  According to Wheeler, going from the piano to the harp is a little easier because students have already learned to read two lines of music. 

Off-campus, Wheeler teaches piano and harp to all ages of student.  She has pre-school groups and a senior-citizen group of students.  She creates a lot of her own arrangements, in part due to the lack of arrangements for harp. 

When she isn’t making music, Wheeler enjoys spending time with her family and working on a number of hobbies.  She has been married 25 years to her husband who she refers to as the “official harp mover.”  Her 18-year-old daughter, an accomplished pianist and flautist, is a physical therapy major at MSU.  Wheeler has a number of hobbies including creating stain glass windows and glass fused jewelry.  She enjoys sewing and embroidery as well as painting (acrylics, landscapes and flowers).  She also enjoys gardening – she tends to the flowers and her husband does the vegetables.