Shenandoah Conservatory’s distinguished music faculty has been busy in recent months, seeing works premiere, taking on state leadership roles and performing, presenting, and publishing work and research.
Distinguished Guest Composer and Senior Lecturer of New Music David T. Little, Ph.D. has premiered and presented major works in 2015-16. “Soldier Songs” received a new production by GLMMR and Tomer Zvulun at The Atlanta Opera in fall 2015, a production that will travel to San Diego Opera this year.
Dr. Little’s breakout opera, “Dog Days,” continues to make waves, receiving its New York debut at the 2016 Prototype festival in January, and in February, two new productions in Germany, at Theater Bielefeld (European premiere) and Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin. A commercial recording will be released this fall. March 2016 brought the world premiere of “Ghostlight,” a ritual for six players, commissioned by The Kennedy Center for eighth blackbird, which premiered the work and later performed it at Shenandoah Conservatory. Little’s first grand opera, “JFK,” which premiered to high national praise at Fort Worth Opera in April. The piece will travel to L’Opéra de Montréal in 2018.
Little’s new work for choir and chamber orchestra, “dress in magic amulets, dark, from My feet”— commissioned by The Crossing and International Contemporary Ensemble — is being presented in June in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in New York as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival in August. He is currently at work on a new opera commissioned as part of The Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater’s new works program.
Coordinator of Music Theory and Associate Professor of Music Keith Salley, Ph.D., presented “Invariant Properties of Harmonic Substitutions in Jazz” at the 14th annual meeting of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (MTSMA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His presentation accounted for the way common tones, common intervallic structures, and common voice-leading patterns allow jazz musicians to continually re-invent the harmonic fabric of their improvisations and compositions. This is the fourth time Dr. Salley has shared his research with MTSMA. Also, The College Music Symposium published Salley’s article, “Reflections on Reflections of Serialism: Using Metaphors of Language, Visual Arts, and Nature as Pathways Toward Appreciation.” His interdisciplinary research incorporated music history, metaphor theory, linguistics, art history, and natural aesthetics. Salley’s essay argues that serialism, a compositional practice often criticized for being among the most arcane in Western music, is deeply related to other avenues of inquiry in the humanities. The ideas in this article initially developed from lectures Salley presented in undergraduate and graduate courses on music after 1900. The bulk of this article was written in spring 2015 while he was on sabbatical leave.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Guitar Candice Mowbray, D.M.A., ‘03 was a featured performer for the March concert of Satori Chamber Ensemble’s 20th anniversary concert season at Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Featuring the chamber ensemble’s founding member, Dr. Nora Suggs, musicians from the Chanticleer String Quartet, New Jersey Bay-Atlantic Symphony, and Allentown Symphony, and Dr. Mowbray, the program included Fernando Carulli’s Trio Op. 9 No. 2 for flute, violin and guitar; Mauro Giuliani’s Serenade Op. 19 for violin, cello and guitar; and arrangements of Stephen Foster melodies for flute, cello and guitar. An especially well-received work on the program was “Ghenani” for flute and guitar by composer Richard Zarou ’03. Mowbray’s clarinet and guitar duo, Belle Triste, performed two concerts in Leonardtown and Easton, Maryland at the end of April. The programs featured the duo’s own arrangements of “Masquerade Waltz” by Aram Khatchaturian and “Milonga del Angel” by Astor Piazzolla. Publications of both arrangements are planned for the future. Additionally, Mowbray served as a judge for the Marlin-Engel Solo Competition at the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. on April 17. Pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists from ages 6 to 18 competed in this solo competition named in honor of Levine founders Jackie Marlin and Diana Engel.
Professor of Piano Elizabeth Caluda, D.M.A., was elected to a two-year term as president-elect of the Virginia Music Teachers Association. Her duties include organizing the annual state conferences and substituting for the state president as needed. After her two-year term as president-elect, she will serve as president for a two-year term, then as past president for a two-year term. In her role as president-elect, Dr. Caluda attended the Music Teachers National Association National Conference in San Antonio, Texas at the beginning of April. Caluda is the faculty advisor for the Shenandoah Catholic Campus Ministry.
“A Maze (With Grace),” a composition by Professor Emeritus of Composition and Musical Theatre Thomas Albert, D.M.A., was one of two featured works in Spoleto Festival’s (USA) 2016 Music in Time series. The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra performed the piece June 2 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Production and Recording Technology Dan Shores, B.M. presented two workshops at the 140th International Audio Engineering Society Convention held in Paris, France from June 4 through 7. His workshops were titled, “Audio Projections 2—3D Audio Projections” and “T22: Sounds Across the Sea – A Journey in 9.1 Immersive Audio.”
Laurie McManus, Ph.D., received a career contract and was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor of music history and literature.
Adjunct Instructor of Music Production and Recording Technology Mike Sokol, A.A., hosted his first international webinar titled, “The Art of Equalization,” on May 11. It focused on preventing feedback, improving intelligibility and creating better music mixes. More than 250 viewers from countries around the world including Greece, Australia, Hong Kong, Spain, Mali, Mexico, Moscow, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Bengal, Canada, Serbia, and the United States are expected to participate. Learn more.
Featured photo of David T. Little by Merry Cyr