Aleigh A. Papagno began her piano studies at the age of eight and has since enjoyed a multifaceted career as a collaborative pianist, church musician, teacher, writer, and presenter. A native of Florida, her musical journey has taken her to South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Keyboard Performance, summa cum laude, from Bob Jones University, and to Ohio, where she completed a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy along with a Graduate Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy at Ohio University. Aleigh currently resides in Baton Rouge, where she is a Ph.D. student in Piano Pedagogy at Louisiana State University.

​Aleigh’s passion for teaching was sparked in high school when she began working as a teacher’s assistant for the Capitano Music Studio in her hometown, Ocala, Florida. During her undergraduate studies, Aleigh served as a pedagogy intern with Piano Central Studios in Greenville, South Carolina where she taught in both private and group settings. As a master’s student, Aleigh taught group piano as part of her graduate assistantship and private lessons for the Athens Community Music School. Aleigh currently serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Louisiana State University where she teaches group piano courses while maintaining a small, itinerant piano studio.

As a researcher, Aleigh’s work focuses on musicians’ wellness, with an emphasis on the well-being of music students and teachers. She regularly contributes to conversations on wellness by presenting at national and international conferences. In 2025, her article The Well-Tempered Keyboard Lab: Wellness Strategies for the Group Piano Classroom was awarded first place in Piano Magazine’s Collegiate Writing Contest and was later published in the Winter 2026 issue. 

In addition to being a pianist, Aleigh is a budding sourdough baker, a novice crocheter, an avid hiker, and an active reader of Agatha Christie’s novels.