Colin Davin Appointed Director of Guitar Studio and Associate Professor of Guitar
Following a national search, Shenandoah Conservatory is delighted to announce the appointment of Colin Davin, M.M., as director of the guitar studio and associate professor of guitar beginning August 2022. The Juilliard School alumnus succeeds Distinguished Artist-in-Residence and Director of Guitar Studies Julian Gray who retires in May 2022 after nine years of teaching at Shenandoah Conservatory.
Davin, who previously served as co-head of the guitar department at the Cleveland Institute of Music and on the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, has emerged as one of today’s most dynamic artists. In demand for his insights in masterclasses and lectures, he has been invited to teach in a guest capacity at institutions including The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute and Oberlin Conservatory. Performance highlights include concertos with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and Richmond Symphony; collaborations with guitarist Sharon Isbin, violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Edward Arron; and solo and chamber music performances at the Aspen Music Festival and Maui Classical Music Festival.
“I’m thrilled to have Colin join our conservatory community,” said Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “Yes, he is a musician and teacher of the first order. But he brings more to students and colleagues than those exceptional skills. So wonderfully, he also brings a truly collaborative spirit, and a passion for helping to build inclusive and dynamic communities.”
Davin appeared as a featured musical guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman” alongside the late Jessye Norman. He has performed at venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Alhambra Palace, the Paris Conservatoire, the Fridge Fringe in Dubai and the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
An active player in the American contemporary music scene, Davin has performed with Contemporaneous, Talea Ensemble, Nu Deco Ensemble and ensemblenewSRQ. His frequent collaborators include Grammy Award-winning soprano Estelí Gomez and Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal harpist Emily Levin.
“Davin is an accomplished guitarist whose artistry invites the listener to enjoy an array of colors and emotions,” said Search Committee Chair, Conductor, Director of Orchestral Studies and Professor of Conducting Jan Wagner, Diploma and Korrepetitions Praxis, Academy of Music in Vienna (Austria). “He will be an inspiration to our next generation of guitar students and a wonderful, inclusive and collaborative colleague in our conservatory community.”
Davin holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School with Sharon Isbin; a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California with William Kanengiser; and underwent preparatory studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Jason Vieaux.
Davin plays a guitar by Joshia de Jonge with Augustine Strings.
