Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed Scott Allen Jarrett, D.M.A., as choral artist-in-residence beginning August 2016. With responsibilities for conducting the Conservatory Choir and working with colleagues to further strengthen the conservatory’s choral culture and profile as a center of choral excellence, Jarrett will succeed Robert Shafer, M.M., who retired at the end of this academic year after 33 years of distinguished service to Shenandoah University.
“After months of traveling around the country and speaking with senior choral directors, there was one name that kept popping up: Scott Allen Jarrett,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “It was a delight getting to know Scott. His visit to our conservatory and his wonderful work with Conservatory Choir students affirmed to us all that he is exceptionally positioned to build on the chapter of choral training and performance that Bob Shafer built with such extraordinary passion and skill. Scott brings a demonstrated ability to pursue choral music performance at the highest of levels, as well as an extraordinary passion for collaborative work.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Scott to Shenandoah this fall,” said Chair of Vocal/Choral Division and Associate Professor of Voice Byron Jones, D.M.A. “His experiences and approaches to teaching will create a rich academic year of training and performance for the Conservatory Choir in particular. Students throughout the conservatory will also grow as Scott strengthens collaborative relationships with the other choirs and disciplines, ultimately furthering a vibrant choral culture at Shenandoah.”
Jarrett is a regular guest conductor at Trinity Wall Street in New York and made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut (chamber orchestra) in 2015. He currently serves as the director of music at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel, as the resident conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society chorus, and music director of Boston’s Back Bay Chorale. From 2014 to 2016, he was acting director of choral activities at Boston University’s School of Music, and from 2004 to 2015, Jarrett was director of choruses and assistant conductor of the Charlotte Symphony (North Carolina). During the summer months, Jarrett serves as director of the Vocal Fellows Program and assistant chorus master at the Oregon Bach Festival.
Jarrett has taught masterclasses and courses at several leading institutions and festivals, including Boston University School of Music, Tanglewood, Carmel Bach Festival and Oregon Bach Festival.
As a keyboardist, Jarrett frequently performs with Miami-based vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire. He and pianist Justin Thomas Blackwell can be heard on Seraphic Fire’s Grammy-nominated album, “Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, four-hand piano” with conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley.
Originally from Lynchburg, Virginia, Jarrett received his Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting and Master of Music in choral conducting from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Music in music education with a concentration in voice and piano from Furman University.
Photo by Lydia Bittner Baird
