Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed Julian Schwarz, M.M., as assistant professor of cello beginning August 2017. Regarded as a one of the leading cellists in the twenty-first century, Schwarz will succeed Clyde Thomas Shaw, M.M., who will retire at the end of this academic year after thirteen years of service to Shenandoah University. “The retirement of […]
Julian Schwarz Appointed Assistant Professor of Cello
Shenandoah Conservatory Jazz Ensemble and Winchester-Frederick County Bar Association Partner to Raise Funds for Legal Aid and Scholarships
The Shenandoah Conservatory Jazz Ensemble presents, “Jazz Goes to the Movies,” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (181 Kernstown Commons Blvd., Winchester). The concert is a Jazz4Justice™ event in partnership with the Winchester-Frederick County Bar Association, and will raise funds to support Blue Ridge Legal Services and the Shenandoah […]
Shenandoah University to Host Ninth Annual National Jazz Workshop
Shenandoah University will host its ninth annual National Jazz Workshop (NJW) from Sunday, July 9, through Friday, July 14. The six-day intensive program features nearly 100 participants from across the United States ranging in age from rising high school freshmen to adults. NJW offers a fully comprehensive curriculum for jazz studies to include improvisation, big […]
Conservatory Performs 2017/18 Season Announcement
Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University announces its Conservatory Performs 2017/18 season. Conservatory Performs is the conservatory’s premier performance series featuring Shenandoah’s own award-winning faculty and students, as well as internationally acclaimed guest artists. The 2017/18 season features a multitude of events, including top-notch performances by Shenandoah Conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, vocal and jazz ensembles; […]
Music Therapy Program Leads
Shenandoah University’s music therapy program is further distinguishing itself as a leader in the field, through additions to the program itself and innovative research and leadership efforts from students, faculty and alumni. Program Updates: The music therapy program is awaiting Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) approval as an approved provider of continuing education training […]
Musical Mathematician Libby Beller ‘19 Enjoys the ‘Best of Both Worlds’
Elizabeth (Libby) Beller ‘19 is a double major in clarinet performance and mathematics at Shenandoah University, where she says she “gets the best of both worlds” — the opportunity to become a thriving, world-class musician as well as satisfy her love of mathematics through the university’s well-respected Shenandoah Conservatory and College of Arts & Sciences. […]
Shenandoah Conservatory Announces 2018 Alumni Award Recipients
Shenandoah Conservatory announces the recipients of the 2018 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni Awards. This year, three alumni from an array of performing arts disciplines have been chosen by conservatory faculty and leadership to receive one of two awards—the Alumnus of Excellence Award and the Rising Star Alumni Award. We’re delighted to honor these alumni who have […]
Shenandoah University Student, Stoughton ’18 Wins Fulbright Award
Shenandoah University music education student Drake Stoughton ’18 is first of two Shenandoah’s undergraduate students to ever win a Fulbright Award. The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 to promote healthy relationships between countries and better understanding between cultures. Program winners receive a fully funded trip to study in a country of their choosing. “A […]
Mary Elizabeth Bowden Appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet
Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed classical trumpeter and gold medal Global Music Award winner Mary Elizabeth Bowden, M.M., as assistant professor of trumpet beginning August 2019. Bowden succeeds Professor of Trumpet and Conducting Scott Nelson, D.M.A., who retires at the end of the 2018/19 academic year after more than 30 years of service at Shenandoah. Highly […]
Shenandoah Conservatory Hosts The Essentially Ellington Regional High School Jazz Band Festival in Partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Shenandoah Conservatory is hosting the esteemed Essentially Ellington Regional High School Jazz Band Festival in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) on Saturday, Jan. 19, in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre on the main campus of Shenandoah University. The daylong festival features two opportunities for the public to attend free performances: “A Special Tribute Performance: The John […]
Arts Management Masters is Now Online
Starting in Fall 2019, the Performing Arts Leadership and Management (PALM) master’s degree will be a fully online curriculum, giving you the opportunity to complete the program from anywhere around the globe. The new online program takes advantage of the latest strategies in distance education to create vibrant and engaged student learning using a robust […]
Book by Stepniak on Reimagining Classical Music Performance Training in the U.S. Published by Routledge/CMS
“Beyond the Conservatory Model: Reimagining Classical Music Performance Training in Higher Education” by Dean of Shenandoah Conservatory Michael Stepniak, Ed.D., with music colleague Peter Sirotin, was published on Thursday, Sept. 19, by the leading higher education music organization College Music Society (CMS) and leading scholarly publisher Routledge. Beyond providing a new level of insight into […]
Niess ’20 Wins Navy Band Trumpet Audition
Caeley Niess ’20 recently won the trumpet audition with the United States Navy Band. Niess is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Trumpet) and studies with Assistant Professor of Trumpet Mary Elizabeth Bowden, M.A. Only a small percentage of musicians in the world can pass a D.C. military audition, which includes making it […]
Shenandoah University Premieres Virtual Performance of ‘We Will Rise’
Shenandoah University has premiered “We Will Rise,” a virtual performance crafted to interpret the internationally acclaimed song “We Will Rise” composed by Stefan Youngblood ’85 (Bachelor of Music in Music Education) and 75 choir participants and seven soloists from around the world. The project was produced and music directed by Associate Professor of Voice and […]
SU and IN Series Collaborate on Unprecedented Digital Opera Season
Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.-based opera company IN Series announce a season-long partnership to collaboratively create three digital opera premieres for release in 2020 and 2021. Finding opportunity in COVID-19-imposed restrictions on in-person singing, IN Series welcomes 16 of Shenandoah’s graduate and undergraduate voice students to remotely provide the […]
Innovation and Creativity Bring Performances to Life
Rewarding and reaffirming — those are two of three words that Courtney Reilly, executive director of performances and engagement at Shenandoah Conservatory, used to describe the past 10 months. And it goes almost without saying, this word as well: challenging.
Shenandoah’s Music Master’s Degree Programs Receive National Recognition
Shenandoah University’s music master’s degree programs are ranked third in Intelligent.com’s list of top 50 master’s in music degree programs in the U.S. for 2021. The university’s composite score is 96.05 on a scale of 100. Shenandoah beat out the Juilliard School, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music, among others. Shenandoah […]
Naumenko Featured in 2021 Grammy Award-winning Album
“Ethel Smyth: The Prison,” a project featuring Assistant Professor of Voice Fotina Naumenko, D.M.A., won a 2021 Grammy Award in the category of Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. The world premiere recording of Dame Ethel Smyth’s last large-scale work has been garnering acclaim since its release last year, with Gramophone calling it “superbly performed” and […]
We Play Together: A Collaboration Between Music and Esports
Shenandoah Conservatory and the Esports program at Shenandoah University partner to present We Play Together: A Collaboration Between Music and Esports. This seminal, cross-disciplinary project seeks to explore the similarities in practice, pedagogy and performance in music and esports. The event will be livestreamed from the Shenandoah University Esports Arena on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook […]
Celebrating Hal Herman’s Legacy with the Virtual Opening of the Harold Herman Lab Theatre
Shenandoah Conservatory recently celebrated the opening of a new state-of-the-art teaching and student performance space: the Harold Herman Lab Theatre. In that virtual celebration, we provided an overview of the space, remembered our beloved Harold “Hal” Herman, and honored the many donors and friends who made this special project possible. The Harold Herman Lab Theater […]