The Big Little University Rising
Associate Professor of Bassoon Ryan Romine, D.M.A., discussed Shenandoah Conservatory’s radical investment in learning through collaborative exploration in the arts through ShenCoLAB in Inside Higher Ed’s Academic Minute on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Visit www.insidehighered.com to learn more and listen.
Shenandoah Conservatory is pleased to introduce the 2021/22 ShenCoLAB Taskforce student members. New members include Vanessa Estaniel ’23 (Bachelor of Music in Performance), Tyson Francis ’24 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design & Production, Bachelor of Arts in Dance) and Alexa Guadagnoli ’24 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance). Returning members include Maya Bhatnagar ’22 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design & Production, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish) and Maggie DeFrees ’23 (Bachelor of Arts in Dance, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design & Production – Scenic Design).
Student members of the ShenCoLAB Taskforce represent various disciplines from throughout the conservatory and collaborate with Shenandoah Conservatory faculty and staff to produce one of the most anticipated events of the year! Members meet regularly throughout the season to support ShenCoLAB project leaders, collaborators, faculty mentors and festival attendees. Visit www.su.edu/shencolab to learn more about ShenCoLAB.
ShenCoLAB was recently featured on Inside Higher Ed’s Academic Minute program. Visit www.insidehighered.com/audio/2021/09/15/learning-through-collaborative-exploration-arts to learn more and listen.
Shenandoah Conservatory welcomes three new members to the 2020/21 ShenCoLAB Task Force. New members include Maggie DeFrees ’23 (Bachelor of Arts in Dance), Brianna Jaeger ’21 (Master of Music in Collaborative Piano) and Jonathan Toomer ’21 (Bachelor of Music in Performance).
These new students join Maya Bhatnagar ’22 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design & Production, Stage Management) Ethan Livers ’21 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design & Production, Sound Design Reinforcement), McKenna Waldron ’22 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre), Assistant Dean for Recruitment and Associate Professor of Bassoon Ryan Romine, D.M.A., and Professor of Theatre Kirsten Trump, M.F.A., to plan and execute Shenandoah Conservatory’s exclusive collaborative initiative.
Key responsibilities for the ShenCoLAB Task Force include planning and correspondence during fall 2020, attendance and active participation at weekly planning meetings during spring 2021 semester, committee tasks as assigned and extensive engagement throughout ShenCoLAB and on festival day. Members receive a $500 stipend for their service.
The 2020/21 ShenCoLAB event runs Tuesday, May 4, through Friday, May 7, and culminates in the Festival of Arts, Ideas & Exploration on Saturday, May 8, 2021. Visit www.su.edu/shencolab to learn more.
The atmosphere of creative incubation fostered at Shenandoah Conservatory led two musical theatre students to forge a partnership and craft a musical, “Lilac,” which they unveiled to the general public at a staged reading in downtown Winchester in March.
The pair – Jack Murphy ’20 (in the above photo, in the first row, wearing a vest and bow tie) and Bailey Baker ’20 (shown above standing to the right of Murphy and wearing a gray dress) – hope to fine-tune the musical in the coming months, and they have discussed ideas for perhaps presenting the completed piece at the conservatory during their senior year.
The duo connected as sophomores, after Murphy heard Baker in a practice room and they decided to write together. They built their work from an idea, which explores LGBTQ+ issues, that Murphy generated during the summer before their sophomore year. Murphy’s original idea was about a couple, in which one half (a writer) is fed up with his workaholic boyfriend, the workaholic is ready to propose, and their views collide in song from either side of a closed door.
Once Murphy and Baker connected, her music helped develop a different flavor for one of the main characters, and they learned how to write together, she said. Soon, their work progressed, and they presented what they had at the conservatory Playwrights’ program that fall. They were asked to perform before the group again that spring in its yearly awards show.
The vast majority of “Lilac,” which developed into a story of a relationship, told through flashbacks, came together during the conservatory’s annual Student Performance Week (SPW) in November 2018, when classes were suspended to allow students to focus on their creative work.
Murphy said SPW was crucial to the piece’s development. They honed and, even in one case, wrote, songs; devoted time to choreography (the show features a tap-dance number); and developed characters by using two sets of actors for the main roles. “We would stay here until 4 a.m. and the cleaning crew would show up,” Murphy said.
“I discovered that I really really had passion for this during SPW. It was the happiest that I had ever been,” Baker added.
They performed the show, as it was up to that point, as a work in progress at the SPW’s culminating Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration.
Their process isn’t a set one. In musical theatre, “content dictates form,” Murphy said. So in every case, they determine where they want the song or scene to go, and then work from there. They approach each song differently, sometimes even transforming dialogue into lyrics. “We want it to all sound very natural,” Baker said.
The twosome also work on all parts of their show together, sharing composition duties for the book, music and lyrics. Murphy and Baker say they are both driven, share a common, intense work ethic, and have complementary strengths. They also adore the process of creating a work. “It’s a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle,” that one relishes assembling, even knowing that it will never be truly finished, Murphy said.
When the show was presented to the public in March through the Liminality Theatre Company, at the Bright Box Theater in downtown Winchester, the pair knew that their writing had hit the mark. Moments they had hoped were funny went over well, Murphy said, and audience members were obviously touched by the show’s end. The reading also raised a bit of money to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
By being part of Shenandoah Conservatory, the pair has also received feedback from faculty, including veteran Broadway conductor Patrick Brady. Baker said Brady talked with them about having strong rhymes, and to make sure the dance elements furthered the story.
Now, the pair will continue to refine the show and perhaps add a bit more content, as they work in different North Carolina playhouses over summer break. After finishing edits and the libretto, and working on staging and scenic design elements, they hope to present a fully staged version of the show that forged their creative partnership.
The pair is such a team that they plan to cement their connection in ink over the summer, too. They plan to get matching tattoos – of a pen with lilacs growing out of it.
Shenandoah Conservatory has selected five full-time students to serve on the 2019 Student Performance Week (SPW) Taskforce:
All five students will offer their expertise in the areas of music, theatre, dance, production and sound as they prepare for the second-ever Student Performance Week this fall.
Musical theatre majors Jack Murphy ’20 and Bailey Baker ’20 have been working on “Lilac,” a musical which began as a scene with Playwrights student group, grew into a project for Student Performance Week in the fall, and has been developed into a full-length piece which had staged readings directed by Avery Sedlacek ’20 (B.F.A. in Acting), at Bright Box on March 23.
The piece was performed at on Saturday, March 30, in Shingleton Dance Space on Shenandoah’s main campus. All proceeds will go to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Visit “Lilac”: the Musical on Facebook and Instagram for more information.
NICU Lullabies and Poems, a ShenCoLAB project by Jenna Barricklo ’21 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre), was approved for use in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) at Winchester Medical Center. The project used the conservatory’s recording studio during Student Performance Week last November to record 12 songs and 9 poems, culminating in “Sweet Dreams Baby,” an album designed to help babies receive care while in NICU.
Following Student Performance Week, Barricklo presented her project to the Parent Advisory Council at the NICU in Winchester Medical Center. After three months of review, the project passed all levels of evaluation by the neonatologists and practice council. Barricklo is currently working to market and release the album for use in the hospital and will be up and running at the NICU in Winchester Medical Center by the end of the academic year.
“This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and it would not have been possible without the support of the conservatory. I’m really in awe of the opportunity I was given, and I can’t express my gratitude enough.” – Barricklo
Barricklo’s project is an example of Shenandoah Conservatory’s devotion to innovative practice and collaboration through initiatives such as Student Performance Week. The groundbreaking program was held from Nov. 27, through Dec. 1, on Shenandoah’s main campus. The conservatory turned over programming and facilities to its students for a week of unbridled exploration, collaboration and creativity. Students worked across disciplines on self-directed, time-limited projects fueled by their own passion, drive and curiosity. The week culminated on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a daylong Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration featuring a wide variety of exciting, innovative and provocative performances, presentations and other special events.
Being a leader doesn’t mean you have all of the answers; it just means you know how to find the people who do.”
Jenna Barricklo ’21 | Musical Theatre Major & Leader of the Student Performance Week project “NICU Lullabies & Nursery Rhymes”
Barricklo’s project was part of a revolutionary experiment at Shenandoah Conservatory: Student Performance Week (SPW) a full week in which classes were canceled and students collaborated on a wide variety of student-led creative projects.
The week then culminated in an extraordinary event: the Dec. 1 Festival of Arts, Ideas & Exploration, which featured 27 performances and five presentations, one being Barricklo’s, in which she called upon music therapy and music production & recording technology students for their assistance.
During the festival, students performed a play while also signing the dialogue in American Sign Language; performed a ballet with accompaniment by a wind quintet and piano; improvised songs in student Ewan Noblet’s “CIRCLESONGS”; delved into Investigative North Korean Dance; learned the musical saw; performed in works that melded dance, movement, live music and the spoken word; wrote and performed a sketch comedy revue; blended music, marching and dance for Shenandoah Wind Theatre experience, much like seeing a small marching band perform indoors; explored Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album, “DAMN.” and so much more.
I am so proud of the students; they OWNED this at a level that can make us all very proud. Students were heavily invested and revealed great creativity. Some works were SIMPLY STUNNING.”
Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. | Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music
Such a week has occurred for a number of years at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, where student participation is required, and at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, where student participation is voluntary. The conservatory’s SPW Taskforce visited both earlier this year, and brought back its findings about holding a similar week at Shenandoah, which the conservatory voted in favor of for the fall 2018 semester.
It’s simply radical that an entire school would turn things over to students for such a long stretch within an intensive semester. No arts school that we know of in the USA has done this.”
Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. | Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music
Shenandoah’s initial SPW was a resounding success, with more than 600 wristbands distributed for the festival, which offered a dizzying array of performances and presentations in music, theatre and dance at 12 stages across Shenandoah’s main campus.
Everyone around me was so excited to see new art and were forgiving of flaws, receptive to feedback and so loving. I was so excited all day. I think as a conservatory, we beat ourselves down very hard every day, pushing ourselves to be better and perfect, but with this, this let everyone just CREATE and devote time to do it.”
One Shenandoah Conservatory student said of the week
SPW provided Jack Murphy ’20 and fellow Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre major Bailey Baker ’20, with invaluable time to devote to their work-in-progress musical “Lilac,” which explores LGBTQ+ issues. They could rehearse the piece with their actors then work on it themselves for 10 hours a day. While the duo wrote the first 12 minutes of the musical last year, they added to it significantly during SPW. “None of the actors had any material before this week,” said Murphy, who oversaw a workshop performance of the musical for the festival. One song, he said, was written just three days before the festival. The goal is for a full reading of the musical to occur in March with Liminality Theatre Company, a student theatre company with its goal to produce art created outside of the idea of traditional theatre.
Barricklo presented to Winchester Medical Center during SPW, receiving a positive response. Over the course of its development, the project morphed from a compact disc of music and poems to be played for babies to a piece that gives parents tools through which they can bond with their babies, Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy student Morgan Potter ’19 said. The project is not music therapy, Potter noted. If clinical music therapy is needed for the infant, that’s when a professional should be contacted for their services. Once the recording is finalized, it is hoped that it, along with an accompanying handbook, also assembled by Barricklo, will be distributed to expectant parents. Barricklo was incredibly open to understanding music therapy research, framing her project to follow a route that was responsible, ethical and beneficial, said Bronwen Landless, ’04, ’13, M.M.T., who was the faculty mentor for the project.
The students’ love for the experience was evident, as were the learning outcomes.
It’s not about perfection. It’s not about product. It’s about process.”
Courtney Reilly | Conservatory Performs Managing Director and Artistic Director of Performing Arts Live
The week’s success depended on a number of factors. “We had the exceptional talent and creative energy needed not only on the student side, but also on the staff/planning side,” Stepniak said. Additionally, he said he couldn’t offer enough thanks for the Student Performance Week Taskforce, for its leadership, the Dean’s Circle for critical funding and support, and Courtney Reilly and her extraordinary staff and team of volunteers.
The Student Performance Week Taskforce included:
Explore the Conservatory Explore Performances
In a groundbreaking new initiative, Shenandoah Conservatory is canceling its regular classes and rehearsals for one week, and turning over its facilities and resources to the students, in order to support student-run projects, which emphasize collaboration and interdisciplinary partnership. The initiative, modeled after similar programs in the United Kingdom, will be the first of its kind in the nation.
From Tuesday, Nov. 27, through Saturday, Dec. 1, students work across disciplines on self-directed, time-limited projects fueled by their own passion, drive and curiosity. The week culminates with a Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration, on Dec. 1, featuring more than thirty innovative and provocative music, theatre and dance projects, which highlight student creativity and collaboration.
While the daylong festival offers audiences access to a wide variety of live performances and presentations, the underlying goal is to inspire artistic and scholarly excellence, preparing talented students for successful careers in the arts.
Polling of top CEOs and arts leaders is clear: the career success of this generation of students will hinge on their ability to work collaboratively, to solve problems with independence, and to be innovative in bringing people together around projects that matter. Student Performance Week is so significant because it provides conservatory students an extraordinary opportunity to practice and strengthen these very skills.”
Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. | Shenandoah Conservatory Dean and Professor of Music
The journey to Shenandoah Conservatory’s Student Performance Week (SPW) began in the UK in 2017, when Dr. Stepniak visited The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. At the time, both schools were in the midst of initiatives which effectively turned college instruction on its head, freeing students to interact and create in ways both new and completely of their own design. Excited about the possibilities of such a program existing at Shenandoah Conservatory, Stepniak assembled a small student/faculty task force and, thanks to funding from the Dean’s Circle, supported an exploratory return trip the following year. After a four-day whirlwind tour in early 2018, the group returned to Shenandoah with a positive recommendation for creating a similar initiative at Shenandoah Conservatory; albeit with the important caveat that it must include students from across the entire conservatory — music, theatre and dance, as well as the academic and research-oriented departments. Since gaining approval, the task force has shifted to planning and promoting this massive project.
From a field of 67 submissions, 33 projects were selected and will be featured across main campus in the Festival of Arts, Ideas and Exploration from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 1. More than 100 additional conservatory students are collaborating with project leaders to make their creations a reality. Festival-goers will receive wristbands, giving them access to a day of performances and presentations, as well as an after-party celebration, which begins at 10 p.m. in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre.
Wristbands are available for a suggested donation of $10 ($5 for students and youth). Proceeds support ongoing Student Performance Week efforts. Festival wristbands and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office at 540/665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.
Throughout the week of Nov. 27, rehearsals for Student Performance Week and preparation activities for the festival are open for press to observe and photograph. Additionally, Dean Michael Stepniak, as well as members of the Student Performance Week Planning Committee and student participants are available for interviews.
High-resolution photography are available upon request.
Additional information and a summary of featured projects can be found on the Student Performance Week, renamed ShenCoLAB
Courtney Reilly
Managing Director, Shenandoah Conservatory
(540) 535-3530 | creilly@su.edu
Shenandoah Conservatory is home to more than 600 students enrolled in baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs in the areas of music, theatre and dance. Virginia’s oldest and premier center for performing arts training, the conservatory is led by a dynamic faculty composed of performers and scholars of national and international repute.
Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Shenandoah is a private, nationally recognized university that blends the best of professional studies and the liberal arts. With nearly 4,000 students in more than 100 academic programs in seven different schools, Shenandoah promotes a close-knit community rich in creative energy and intellectual challenge. Shenandoah students collaborate with accomplished professors who provide focused, individual attention, all the while leading several programs to be highly nationally ranked. Through innovative partnerships and programs at both the local and global level, there are exceptional opportunities for students to learn in and out of the classroom. Shenandoah empowers its students to improve the human condition and to be principled professionals and leaders wherever they go. For more information, visit su.edu.
Shenandoah Conservatory will introduce and pilot a class-free, student-led performance week for its students in fall 2018. Conservatory division chairs and leadership agreed in March to a pilot week, after hearing the findings of a five-member Shenandoah Conservatory Student Performance Week Task Force, which traveled in February to study the successful student-focused weeklong performance programs at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London, England. Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D., accompanied the task force on the trip. Members of the task force include Associate Professor of Theatre, Assistant Dean for Student Learning and Task Force Leader Carolyn Coulson, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Bassoon and Music Theory and Co-Chair of the Conservatory Curriculum Committee Ryan Romine, D.M.A.; dance representative Adrienne Elion ’20 (B.F.A. in Dance); theatre representative Christopher Goodwin ’19 (B.F.A. in Musical Theatre) and music representative Joshua Frey ’19 (B.M. in Music Production & Recording Technology).This project is supported by funding from the Dean’s Circle.
The class of 2018 musical theatre students made their New York City debut with a special showcase performance on April 27, at Feinstein’s/54 Below. The seniors performed for family, friends and Shenandoah alumni with special guest appearances by Garrett Elise Long ’91 (B.F.A. in Musical Theatre) and Jessie Hooker-Bailey ’10 (B.F.A. in Musical Theatre).
World-renowned conductor and former principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic Gerard Schwarz conducted a brass masterclass for Shenandoah Conservatory students March 18. Schwarz is the father of Shenandoah Conservatory Assistant Professor of Cello Julian Schwarz, M.M. Participants included Anthony Barnwell ’18 (Master of Music in Performance, Trumpet), Josue Duran ’18 (Bachelor of Music in Performance, Trumpet), Cameron Farnsworth ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Tuba), Danielle Franc ’18 (Bachelor of Music in Performance, Horn), David Humbertson ’19 (Master of Music in Performance, Trombone), Caeley Niess ’20 (Bachelor of Music in Performance, Trumpet) and Jonathan Wyatt ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Composition, Trumpet).
Six conservatory students traveled to New York City during spring break to explore the new music scene with Distinguished Guest Composer and Senior Lecturer of New Music David T. Little, Ph.D., and Director of Composition and Coordinator of New Music Jonathan Newman, M.M. Performance highlights included Strauss’ “Elektra” at the Metropolitan Opera; Sō Percussion and JACK Quartet in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; Paul Taylor American Modern Dance at Koch Theater of Lincoln Center; and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and drummer Chad Taylor at Spectrum in Brooklyn, as well as three performances at National Sawdust in celebration of its Spring Revolution festival. Participants included Jeremy Chontow ’20 (Bachelor of Music in Composition), Andrew Herring ’18, ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Composition, Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership and Management), Grayson Jarvis ’20 (Bachelor of Music in Composition), Katsuko Kameda ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Performance, Percussion), Paul Winch ’23 (Master of Music in Composition) and Jonathan Wyatt ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Composition).
The five members of the Shenandoah Conservatory Student Performance Week Taskforce along with Dean and Professor of Music Michael Stepniak, Ed.D., traveled from Feb. 20, through Feb. 24, to visit the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London, England. Both institutions currently offer student-focused, weeklong performance programs that have proven especially successful. Highlights from the trip included attending rehearsals and final performances of student-led projects, touring facilities, holding in-depth discussions with administrators and students about the pros and cons of their programs, sharing meals with UK counterparts, and debating various aspects of what a similar program here at Shenandoah would look like. While there was precious little time available for sight-seeing, some members of the group were able to take a whirlwind tour of Cardiff Castle and later to spend some time in Greenwich, England, catching up with Trinity Laban voice major Cassie Dalby, who last year spent a semester studying voice here at Shenandoah with Chair of Vocal/Choral Division and Associate Professor of Voice (Tenor) Byron Jones ’04, D.M.A.
Taskforce members are currently in the process of deliberating and shaping a recommendation as to whether or not Shenandoah Conservatory should alter its calendar and undergraduate course schedules one semester each academic year to provide space and support for a student performance week. If in the positive, their recommendation will be presented to Shenandoah Conservatory faculty and students during a specially convened, conservatory-wide Performance Forum and put to a student and faculty vote.
Members of the taskforce include Associate Professor of Theatre, Conservatory Assistant Dean for Student Learning and Taskforce Leader Carolyn Coulson, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Bassoon and Music Theory and Co-Chair of the Conservatory Curriculum Committee Ryan Romine, D.M.A.; dance representative Adrienne Elion ’20 (B.F.A. in Dance); theatre representative Christopher Goodwin ’19 (B.F.A. in Musical Theatre) and music representative Joshua Frey ’19 (B.M. in Music Production & Recording Technology).
The Shenandoah Conservatory Student Performance Week Taskforce was created with support from the Dean’s Office to critically investigate the viability and value of altering the entire undergraduate conservatory curriculum during one semester to create space for a weeklong, conservatory undergraduate class-free, student-led performance/presentation week. That week-long period would be a time when conservatory performance and rehearsal spaces are turned over to students, and students would have an opportunity to oversee the final rehearsal, management and presentation of collaborative and innovative student performances and productions. This project is supported in part by funding from the Dean’s Circle.
