Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Conducting Timothy J. Robblee, Ph.D., conducted the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) International Honor Band hosted in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg from March 15 through March 19. One of the rehearsal highlights included a Skype interview with Director of Composition and Coordinator of New Music Jonathan Newman, M.M. Members of the bands came from four continents (South America, Europe, Asia and Australia). The 80-member student ensemble was chosen by audition from every international school in the world; it is their highest honor ensemble. Students came from 40 different schools from 20 different countries. This was the 42nd anniversary of AMIS founding the ensemble.
Christina Halpin Chair in Dance, Chair of Dance Division and Assistant Professor of Dance Maurice Fraga, M.F.A., presented “Lost Paradise” on April 28, in the Ewing Dance Studio. Working with dance, musical theatre and acting majors from Shenandoah Conservatory, “Lost Paradise” is a dance theater version of the jukebox musical format, taking five previously choreographed works, weaving them with new choreographic/theatrical material, and creating a new narrative, which strives to question our never ending quest(s) in finding the perfect mate: the One. It combines modern dance choreography, acting, live singing, and projections, allowing the public to witness, participate, and engage in the development of the performance and build an active relationship with all the participants in the room.
Additionally, Fraga will serve as one of two new division chairs for the 2017 through 2020 academic years at the conservatory. Professor of Saxophone Timothy Roberts, D.M.A., will serve as the instrumental division chair. Conservatory division chairs have two responsibilities: to increase the profile and reputation of their division and to efficiently manage division operations.
Fraga served as the dance division chair for the 2017 to 2018 academic year while Associate Professor of Dance Ting-Yu Chen, M.F.A., was on sabbatical.
“I am very grateful for the leadership that Ting-Yu provided in dance (we look forward to having her rejoin our faculty at the end of this year-long sabbatical), and for the leadership that Jan is providing in the instrumental division,” said Dean of Shenandoah Conservatory Michael Stepniak, Ed.D.
Coordinator of Music Theory and Associate Professor of Music Keith Salley, Ph.D., delivered a keynote address in March 2017 at the Sound, Color, Shape Symposium at the University of South Dakota. His presentation was titled, “Regarding the Humanities and the Human: Exploring Musical Serialism Through Metaphors.”
Dr. Salley is currently working on “Standard jazz harmony and the constraints of hypermeter: Some considerations of periodic forms and their phrase-rhythmic irregularities.” This is a book chapter published by Bloomsbury Press, included in “Over and Over: Exploring Repetition in Popular Music” (2017).
In April, Associate Professor of Music History and Literature Laurie McManus, Ph.D., presented an invited talk at West Virginia University titled, “Brahms, Levi, and the Temptation of Opera.” She will also present a pedagogy paper, “Where Present and Past Meet: Teaching Romantic Performativity and Reception” at the 5th Biennial North American Conference on 19th-century Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, June 7 through June 9.
In addition to her ongoing work on Brahms, including submitted chapters to Oxford University Press, Dr. McManus is working on a pedagogy article,“The Case for Performance Studies in the Music History Curriculum,” to submit to the Journal of Music History Pedagogy.
Associate Professor of Music Education Stephanie Standerfer, Ph.D., is completing a book proposal titled, “Line by Line: Progressive Staff Method Arrangements for Elementary Music Literacy,” for Oxford University Press, which is expected to be completed in fall 2017. Dr. Standerfer presented her latest research study, “Learning to Make Decisions: Shared Assessment in U.S. Undergraduate Music Education Programs” on April 19 at the Sixth International Symposium for Assessment in Music Education in Birmingham, England, U.K. She is also presenting, “Shared Assessment Strategies and Impacts on Music Teacher Identity Development” in May at the Mountain Lake Colloquium, a national conference for general music teacher educators. Standerfer will be on sabbatical this fall to work on a range of projects and plan a new research agenda.
Associate Professor of Voice, Coordinator of Musical Theatre Voice and Artistic Director of CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute Matt Edwards ’15, D.M.A., recently received the Van Lawrence Fellowship to support a real-time MRI study of professional performers with his colleague Dr. Aaron Johnson at NYU Medical Center. The results of this study will provide further insight into the differences between classical and contemporary commercial music genres that will benefit studio teachers, singing voice specialists and their students.
Director of the Janette Ogg Voice Research Center and Associate Professor of Voice (Baritone) David Meyer, D.M., is co-presenter and research advisor for two upcoming invited presentations at the Voice Foundation Annual Symposium: “Care of the Professional Voice: Temporomandibular Disorder Symptom Prevalence in Undergraduate Singers” (with Jane Clukey) and “Barriers to Singing Voice Intervention Use in Caring for Persons with Dementia” (with Martina Bingham) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In late fall 2016, Dr. Meyer was invited to join the Editorial Advisory Board of Plural Publishing, a prestigious, nationally recognized voice science publisher.
Assistant Professor of Music Therapy Hakeem Leonard, Ph.D., recently completed a podcast for Imagine, an online music therapy magazine, titled, “What Music Therapy Students Should Know When Conducting Service Projects in Latin American Countries.” Dr. Leonard is also completing work on a submission for the Journal of Music Therapy titled, “The Effect of Live Music During a Physical Therapy Exercise on Pain in Knee Replacement Rehabilitation.” He will present this research at the 2017 American Music Therapy Association Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, in November and also share it with the Shenandoah community to enhance interprofessional awareness and collaboration.
Director of Graduate Music Therapy Studies and Associate Professor of Music Therapy Tony Meadows, Ph.D., along with a colleague from the United Kingdom, recently completed an arts-informed qualitative research synthesis titled, “Core Themes in Music Therapy Clinical Improvisation: An arts-informed QRS.” In addition to synthesizing qualitative research, the project includes a seven-minute video interpretation of the data. The manuscript is currently in review with the Journal of Music Therapy.
Dr. Meadows is also completing the following manuscripts for publication: “Working with Claire: A Perlovsky-Informed Anatomy,” integrating Perlovsky’s theory of music cognition into music therapy clinical practice; “Clinical Reasoning in Music Therapy: A Grounded Theory of Oncology Practices,” focused on illuminating the decision-making processes of music therapists as they unfold in sessions, and “A Systematic Review of the Clinical and Cost-effectiveness of Music Therapy Interventions for Managing Agitation for Older Adults with Dementia,” working with colleagues from the public health and business programs at Shenandoah University.
Auxiliary Adjunct Associate Professor of Voice and Co-Founder of the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute Edrie Means Weekly ’84, M.M., presented multiple masterclasses and workshops on contemporary commercial music styles during the months of March and April, including Viterbo University, Morgan State University, Student National Association of Teachers of Singers (SNATS) chapter in Wisconsin and the SAI Fraternity chapter. She presented a “Connect The Singer and The Actor” workshop, “To Belt or Not to Belt, Legit Singing in Musical Theatre” at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC). She is presenting a workshop session titled, “Country Singing for Musical Theatre 101” at The Voice Foundation’s 46th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice in June at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While at the Voice Foundation she will also present two research papers: “Retraining Voice Users with a Diagnosed Vocal Pathology” and “Do Amateurs and Professionals Seek the Same Vocal Health Advice?: Survey of 1195 Voice Users.” Means Weekly is a judge for the 2017 Miss Delaware Pageant, in Dover, Delaware, the winner of which will participate in the Miss America pageant.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Guitar Candice Mowbray ’03, ’12, D.M.A., performed for the Knoxville Guitar Society in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 22. In partnership with clarinetist Anita Thomas, Dr. Mowbray premiered a “Australian Mood,” a new work by Thomas. Thomas, who is from Sydney, Australia, wrote the work based on the landscapes of desert and ocean.
On May 6, Mowbray performed a solo recital for the New Jersey Music Educators’ Guitar Festival in Ewing, New Jersey. On May 7, Mowbray was a featured soloist with the Satori Chamber Ensemble in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She performed works for guitar and string quartet by Maximo Diego Pujol and Jean Marie Raymond, a baroque trio sonata by Jean Marie LeClair, and a flute and guitar duet by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
On March 17, Mowbray released the CD, “Garden Waltz.” This recording features a rare collection of charming American and European miniatures from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Gathered from the online archives of the United States Library of Congress and other resources, this treasury of light-hearted salon music showcases the era’s penchants for waltzes and includes a selection of arrangements, character pieces and etudes. It is available on cdbaby.com, iTunes and Spotify. Mowbray performed as featured soloist with members of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Greater Washington on March 25. Fellow Shenandoah Conservatory alumnus Maryory Serrano, ’04, ’06, ’08, ’10 (Bachelor of Music in Performance (Violin), Master of Music in Performance (Violin), Artist Diploma in String Quartet Studies, Artist Diploma in Violin Performance, respectively), served as concertmaster. They performed Maximo Diego Pujol’s “Tangata de Agosto.”
Mowbray also presented the pre-concert lecture for the Marlow Guitar Series on February 25. In celebration of Women’s History Month, she discussed several women who contributed to classical guitar performance, pedagogy and literature.
In March and April, Adjunct Associate Professor of Classical and Jazz Trombone Matthew Niess, D.M.A., toured Florida and Oregon conducting clinics and performing with The U.S. Army Brass Quintet at Florida State University, University of Miami, Stetson University, Florida Atlantic University, Willamette High School, Spraque High School, North Salem High School, Oregon State University and Portland University. In March, Dr. Niess directed the National Jazz Workshop All-Star Star Jazz Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on the Millennium Stage and at The Big Band Bash held at George Mason University. On April 2, Niess performed at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) in Erie, Pennsylvania, with Swamp Romp, a New Orleans-jazz-style group. He also performed with Frankie Valli in Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., directed the 2017 Loudoun County All-District High School Jazz Band and served as a clinician for the county jazz assessment.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory Farid Javidan-Samani, D.M.A., had his composition, “Sounds of Creation” performed as part of the concert, “Celebrating Resilience: Music by Iranian Baha’is.” The concert took place on April 2 at the Chicago Culture Center. His piece was a composition for piano, violin and cello. Watch Dr. Javidan-Samani talk about his composition and experience.
The fourth annual “Celebrating Resilience: Music by Iranian Bahá’ís” celebrates the music and resilience of Iranian Bahá’í composers living in the United States and Canada. Their music celebrates Persian culture and tells the stories of the composers’ resilience in the face of systemic persecution by Iranian authorities: risking raids and imprisonment to study and teach music, and honoring lost and imprisoned family members.
Assistant Professor of Music Production and Recording Technology Adam Olson, M.A., was recently interviewed by the founder of audioskills.com, Scott Hawksworth. The interview focused on tips and tricks for the basics of mastering a digital audio workstation and practicing the fundamentals. Listen to the audio podcast interview with Olson and Hawksworth.
Director of Orchestral Studies, Conductor; Chair of Instrumental Division, and Professor of Conducting Jan Wagner, Diploma and Korrepetitions Praxis, had his Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) conducting debut on May 5 and May 6. The orchestra performed Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres,” Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with the ASO’s concertmaster Daniel Szasz and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. (Watch Wagner rehearse with the ASO.) The performance received a strong, positive review by Edward Forstman, a contributor to artsbham.com, which is a comprehensive online source of reviews and commentary for Birmingham, Alabama’s vibrant arts community. Read the review.
COMPANY ONE, the junior acting majors’ troupe, performed several plays in April throughout the Winchester community. The first performance, “Hog Wild in Winchester,” written by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre Sally Anderson, B.A., B.Ed., about George Washington’s pig law in 1761, was presented at the George Washington’s Office Museum for the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. The second performance, George Bernard Shaw’s “Androcles and the Lion,” was presented in the gardens of the Museum of The Shenandoah Valley.