B.M. in Piano Performance, James Madison University
M.M. in Piano Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
DMA in Piano Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

MUS 148/149/248/249: Class Piano I, II, III, IV
MUS 145/245/345/445: Piano Ensemble
MUS 151/251/351/451: Piano
MUS 399: Junior Recital
MUS 499: Senior Recital

Nathan Hess has soloed with the Manassas Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Erie Chamber Orchestra, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and York Symphony Orchestra, among others. Recent guest recital appearances and masterclasses have included the American Liszt Society Festival; the Americas Society in New York City; College Music Society Northeast Regional Conference; the Second Sunday Recital Series in Binghamton, NY; Southwest String Quartet in Tucson, AZ; Bowling Green State University; Duke University; University of Wisconsin Eau Claire; West Chester University; Morgan State University; Randolph College; Duquesne University; the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania; and the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Hess holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University, summa cum laude, where he was named a Presser Scholar. He has performed in chamber music settings with members of orchestras, such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and Buffalo Philharmonic. Dr. Hess also acts as an orchestral pianist with the Erie Philharmonic.

For five years, Dr. Hess chaired the Piano program at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts in Erie, teaching piano to some of the state's most talented pre-college students. He performed in and produced a set of recordings for the textbook Harmony in Context, published by McGraw-Hill and written by Miguel Roig-Francoli. In addition to teaching and performing, Dr. Hess is active in the Music Teachers National Association as president of the local Erie chapter, and he adjudicates frequently throughout the region and East Coast. Dr. Hess is an associate professor of piano in the D’Angelo Department of Music at Mercyhurst, where he coordinates the piano area, the Faculty Recital Series, and the Roche Guest Artists Series. In 2018, he received an award for excellence in faculty scholarship. For nine summers, he taught on the faculty at Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado. He can be heard on the Centaur label in recordings with flutist Susan Royal and of Bach arias produced by the International Trumpet Guild.