Radio City Rockettes dancer Natalie Reid taught two Rockette-style masterclasses to Shenandoah Conservatory dance students on Sept. 12. Reid in in her seventh year as a Rockette dancer. Reid has performed at the Emmy Awards and the New York City Elan Awards. Television credits include The Tony Awards, “America’s Got Talent,” “Shake It Up,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” the “Today” show, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, and choreographing and starring in the “OK Is Alright with Me” music video promo for artist Eric Hutchinson. She has been a member of Mark Meismer’s Evolution Dance Company in Los Angeles, Justin Giles’ SoulEscape, Anaheim Ballet, Rapture Dance Project and Odyssey Dance Theatre (U.S. and European Tour). As a Rockette, she performs in the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular and was the assistant dance captain for the inaugural New York Spectacular directed by Mia Michaels. As a teacher, Reid has taught dance at many studios across the country and on national dance conventions, including West Coast Dance Explosion and Rapture Dance Intensive.
Saxophonist Shengbo Lin ’19 and the other members of a saxophone quartet advanced to the final round of “Bravo China,” China’s version of “American Idol,” this summer and won 242 points. Lin played baritone saxophone and performed with a graduate from the Conservatoire de Paris in Paris, a student from a conservatory in Amain, France, and a saxophone teacher at Wenshan Conservatory in China. Click to watch the performance video. Lin ’19 is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Performance under the tutelage of Professor of Saxophone Timothy Roberts, D.M.A.
Abbie Allison ’18 was awarded the 2017 Shenandoah University “100-Mile Joe” Scholarship on Sept. 1, during the Horn Studio Recital. Allison is a fourth-year conservatory student and a graduate of Goochland High School in Goochland, Virginia. Abbie is the principal French horn player of the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra. As a student leader, Abbie leads by example, regularly displaying the highest level of musical excellence. Allison is also the first two-time recipient of the “100-Mile Joe” Scholarship. Allison is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance (Horn) under the tutelage of Adjunct Associate Professor of Horn Joe Lovinsky, Artist Diploma.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary this year, Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy (SCAA) is collecting old photos, videos and quotes from former SCAA students, faculty and staff to share with the community and Shenandoah family. If you would like to submit any of these materials, email Director of Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy Jennifer Green-Flint ’09, ’15, D.Prof., at jgreen@su.edu. Older photos that need to be digitally converted may be submitted as well.
Shenandoah Conservatory received a generous donation of a concert grand Camac-American Harp from Christina Wood of Richmond, Virginia. The instrument is constructed of cherry and birdseye maple with bronzing on the column. This donation provides a superior quality instrument for students to perform with in recitals, and large ensemble rehearsals and concerts. Shenandoah Conservatory is extremely grateful to Wood for her vision and dedication to the future of harp studies at Shenandoah University.
Shenandoah Conservatory kicked off its academic year on Aug. 23, with its 12th annual Conservatory Convocation in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre. Each year, convocation welcomes incoming and returning conservatory students with a dynamic lineup of music, theatre and dance performances showcasing the conservatory’s extraordinary student artists. This year’s special guest speaker was Jenny Bilfield, president & CEO of Washington Performing Arts, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, which thrives as one of the nation’s preeminent multidisciplinary arts presenters. The organization has launched and nurtured innumerable performing artists, and sustained high-impact arts education partnerships with the D.C. public schools and diplomatic community. In 2013, Washington Performing Arts was the first organization of its kind to receive the coveted National Medal of Arts.
Ray Leone ’86, ’17 MT-BC, was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) Graduate Research Award for his research, “The Impact of Two Music Therapy Interventions on Vital Signs, Pain, and Anxiety for Adult Patients in an ICU.” “We do believe that this may be the largest study ever using live music in an ICU; this is from our research as to what is out there in the literature,” Leone said of the study, conducted at Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Virginia. Leone’s study, which included 52 patients, occurred within his second time around as a Shenandoah student. He graduated from Shenandoah in 1986 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre and then worked as a performer before going back to school for music therapy and certification at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Upon moving back to Northern Virginia two years ago, he entered Shenandoah’s master’s program in music therapy, from which he expects to graduate in December. His award includes $1,000 to pay for statistics consultation and will be a featured presentation in the research track at the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in April 2018.
His research was also accepted for presentation at two nursing conferences this fall. One was presented at the 2017 Inova Nursing Research Symposium on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Inova Center for Personalized Health in Fairfax, Virginia. He presented as part of the research team at Inova on his ICU music therapy study. His research poster was accepted for presentation at Virginia Nurses Association’s 2017 Fall Conference. The conference was held on Sept. 15, and Sept. 16 at the Omni Richmond Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
Music therapy major Melodie Madison ’18 studied abroad this summer with the Jamaica Field Service Project (JAFSP). She completed service learning work in the local schools and care centers, while living and studying in rural Jamaica. She immersed herself in the traditions, music, and culture of Jamaica for 10 days, alongside university students from across the United States and Canada. She volunteered in the local schools and care centers, offering music therapy clinical services and said her enriching experience was “made possible by both the students and the staff we worked with. We embraced both responsibilities and opportunities to develop as individuals, with the supervision of the staff. I have made a great number of friends who share an equal passion for serving and caring for others. Also, the experience enhanced my belief in music therapy’s beauty and its impact on people, despite where one comes from. The trip was very rich in digging deeper [and expanding] our understanding of the cultural and philosophical aspects of Jamaica’s roots and music.” The Jamaica Field Service Project is a State University of New York-accredited service-learning program in which university students volunteer in their area of specialization at schools and in the island’s care centers, orphanages, and hospitals. In addition to their volunteer work, students also explore the diverse culture of the vibrant Caribbean country, all under the supervision of the JAFSP’s experienced professors and staff, five times yearly. More than 100 universities in the U.S. and Canada participate in the program.
Shenandoah University hosted its ninth annual National Jazz Workshop (NJW) in July. The six-day intensive program featured 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 including improvisation, big band and small-group performance pedagogy, composition, jazz history, arranging, music recording and production, and instrumental masterclasses. Workshop faculty represent the best jazz educators and performers from Washington, D.C., an area known worldwide as one of the nation’s most prestigious and innovative centers for jazz performance. Throughout the week, students received instruction and coaching focused on raising the performance level of each participant. The main goal of the workshop is to provide participants with the resources and direction to further develop and expand their individual skills during and after the camp, as well as throughout the year. The workshop also included a free, public concert series.