Louie Hehman is a Kentucky-born and Louisville-based pianist and music educator who enjoys a wide spectrum of styles, but specializes in the classical and jazz traditions. Louie found a love of music at an early age but finally decided to make it his career after committing to Bellarmine University. He graduated from Bellarmine in 2014, primarily under the guidance of Professor Meme Tunnell, with additional studies under Profs. Todd Hildreth and Dave Clark.

Louie continued his studies in Indianapolis, attending Butler University under Kate Boyd and Karen Thickstun. Here, he discovered his love for teaching students of all ages. His dual passions for teaching and performing would continue during his DMA studies at the University of South Carolina, where he studied performance under Charles Fugo and Bert Ligon, and pedagogy under Sara Ernst and Scott Price. While at USC, he presented at several major conferences including the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), the MTNA Collegiate Symposium, and the MTNA National Conference. As a teacher through the University’s Center for Piano Studies, Louie was also a back-to-back recipient of the annual Steinway and Sons Top Teacher Award. Louie completed his DMA in Spring of 2022.

Since 2020, Louie has taught at his alma mater, Bellarmine University. He currently serves as Assistant Professor, coordinating the piano and music theory areas and directing the Preparatory Program. He is also past president of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association (GLMTA). Other career highlights include participation in the 2018 Vienna Summer Music Festival, the 2018 South Carolina premier of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS, and the receipt of a gold medal in the 2021 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition. He has adjudicated for the Louisville Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition and the Arthur Frasier International Piano Competition. Since summer 2022, Louie has also taught at the prestigious Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan.

In addition to his focus on academic music, Louie has continued to pursue interests in other styles. Important projects in this vein have included the alt-rock / jazz fusion trio, Cheating Paisly, the hot jazz group Jane’s Jazz Addiction, and the alt-country outfit Nicholas Johnson and the Unrefined. In spring 2024, he released his debut solo piano EP, Daydreams.