Dr. Ian H. “Fella” Altman

Dr. Ian H. “Fella” Altman died on April 26, 2026, in Macon, GA, where he had lived since 1974. He leaves behind his wife, Barbara, of 56 years; sons Ian R. (Cheryl Washburn) and Benjamin (Trina Mizrahi); two step-grandchildren, Johnny and Madeline Wheeler; and a granddaughter, Rose.

Fella was born in Bainbridge, GA, and grew up in Thomasville. He graduated from Thomasville High School in 1965. At age 14, he became the youngest piano student of Professor Franciszek Zachara at Florida State University. During those years, he was also an athlete, as a running back and place kicker on the Thomasville High School football team, and as a track sprinter. He won the state 100-yard dash both his junior and senior years. He was offered a football scholarship to FSU, but turned it down to study music.

In 1965, he entered the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and finished a Master’s degree in piano performance in 1971. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati in 1984.

Fella started teaching piano lessons and piano literature at Mercer University in 1974, and remained an active faculty member to his death. He displayed a deep and vast knowledge of piano and string music. Many of his students continued their studies at top conservatories.

For most of his professional life, he maintained a concert schedule throughout the United States. His repertoire was wide, ranging from Scarlatti, to Mozart and Beethoven, to Schumann and Chopin and especially Liszt, to modernists such as Stravinsky, Schönberg, and Copeland. Although his tastes centered on the romantics, he had a flair for more contemporary composers like Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He and his wife, cellist Barbara, often performed together. The duo had a wide repertoire, performing sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and a range of other works.

He was a member of Sha’arey Israel Synagogue since 1982, when he and his family moved back to Macon from Cincinnati. He taught Sunday school lessons there and contributed greatly to music at the synagogue.

Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 29, at B’nai Israel Hebrew Cemetery, in Thomasville, GA.

Please visit www.hartsmort.com to express your condolences.

Hart’s Mortuary, 765 Cherry Street, Macon, Georgia, has charge of the arrangements.