Judith Porter

Pianist Judith Porter is an instructor of music at Gaston College in Dallas, NC, where she teaches Music Appreciation and Introduction to Jazz. Porter is also active outside the classroom, particularly with the Multicultural Affairs Committee at Gaston College. She served twice as president (2014-2016; 2020-2022) and led the group in bringing a variety of cultural and educational programming to the campus. In 2019-2020, she, along with 11 other teachers from North Carolina, participated in the UNC-Chapel Hill World View Global Music Fellows Program: Integrating Global Music Across the Curriculum with the Music of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei. This program culminated in the creation of a comprehensive teaching toolkit with background information, lesson plans, learning activities and educator resources designed to integrate global music into K-12 and community college classrooms. The teaching toolkit accompanies the Smithsonian Folkways album Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn, released in April 2020.

Porter has toured as pianist and/or musical director for national tours and has appeared as on-camera and voice-over talent for commercials and industrial videos. She is a jazz pianist/singer who performs regularly in the greater Charlotte area. She is also a weekend host on 90.7 WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR News Source.