Shenandoah University will honor three conservatory alumni during the 2018 Homecoming and Family Weekend event from Friday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 7. These alumni will be recognized at the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients on Friday, Oct. 5, during the Alumni Celebration Dinner.
Kyle J. Weary ’05, ’08
2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award for Young Career Achievement
Weary is an elementary music specialist for West Shore School District in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. Prior to this position, he worked for the Barbara Ingram School of the Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he founded the vocal music department and was director of choirs. With his dedication to the school, Weary was nominated for Washington County Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year Award in 2015. While director of choirs, his students had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, New York, with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Todd Rundgren and Eric Whitacre. In 2016, Weary was also a finalist for the Hat City Music Theater’s American Prize in Choral Conducting and a quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award. Weary received his Bachelor of Music degree in music education in 2005 and his Master of Music degree in conducting in 2008.
Alan M. Baylock ’90
2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award for Professional Achievement
Baylock is an associate professor in the division of jazz studies and the director of the One O’Clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. For 20 years, Baylock worked as the staff arranger and composer for the United States Air Force Band, including 18 years as the chief arranger for The Airmen of Note. In 2013, he stepped into the newly created position of jazz composer-in-residence at Shenandoah University. During his residency, Baylock was the co-director, arranger and composer of the Jazz Ensemble and taught jazz arranging, composition and pedagogy. When he isn’t teaching, he performs with the Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra. He has also served as a guest conductor in more than 100 performances, including 11 All-State Jazz Ensembles, and has composed and arranged 300 new works during his career. Baylock received his Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1990.
Dolly Stevens ’77
2018 Distinguished Alumna Award for Lifetime Achievement
Stevens is a drama instructor at Blue Ridge Middle School in Purcellville, Virginia. Since 1993, Stevens has taught and/or directed more than 2,000 youth of all ages. She was the co-founder and producing artistic director of Loudoun County’s premier youth theatre, The Growing Stage, from 1994 to 2004. While at Blue Ridge, she has received numerous awards from the National Youth Arts Theatre for her musical productions. In 2015, Stevens was nominated for the Tony Awards’ Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Though busy with teaching, she still maintains an active professional life as an actress, having done radio and voiceover work, and has appeared in many leading roles with Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre. Stevens received her Bachelor of Music degree in music theatre in 1977.
Attend the 2018 Homecoming & Family Weekend
Support your fellow classmates and attend the Alumni Celebration Dinner by clicking the button below to register. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, in the Ferrari Room of the Brandt Student Center on main campus. Online registration closes at midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
View a full list of events, to register and to see the attendee list at su.edu/alumni/alumni-events/homecoming/.