Chamber Ensembles

The term chamber ensemble has traditionally been used to describe string quartets, string trios, piano/string ensembles, woodwind and brass quintets and other mixed small ensembles. Shenandoah Conservatory’s Chamber Ensemble program provides instrumental music students the opportunity to explore, study and perform works from the vast repertoire of chamber music literature, spanning the eighteenth to twenty-first centuries. The conversational interplay between instruments, so characteristic of the chamber music genre, lends itself to the thorough exploration of intonation, ensemble, balance, phrasing, nuance and style. It also prepares the player to practice necessary professional and social skills, including positive persuasion, articulate communication, cooperation and diplomacy.

All groups are organized by the Director of Chamber Music and will perform in chamber music masterclasses and in designated chamber music recitals each semester. Exceptional groups will be selected by faculty to perform in the Honors Chamber Music Recitals and have the opportunity to participate in community and outreach activities. Each ensemble receives weekly coaching by designated members of the Shenandoah Conservatory performing faculty.

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Meet the Director

dorisledererensembles A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Doris Lederer has performed with the Marlboro Music Festival and toured with Music From Marlboro. She has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic.

Receiving international acclaim, Lederer's four solo CD albums, featuring viola music by early twentieth century English composers have been released by Centaur Records.

Currently holding the positions of professor of viola and chamber music and director of instrumental chamber music at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia, Lederer also serves on the faculty of the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill, Maine. She has also served on the faculties of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in Idyllwild, California, and the Chautauqua Institution in New York, the International Festival at Round Top, Texas and The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, as well as the annual Audubon Quartet's Intensive String Quartet Seminars.

Lederer has presented viola and chamber music masterclasses at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, the Yale School of Music, the Eastman School of Music, the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, Kneisel Hall, the Chautauqua Institute, Idyllwild Arts, the Marrowstone Music Festival in Washington State as well as the Central Conservatory in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan Conservatories in China.

As the only jury member representing the United States, Lederer was a jury member at the Eighth Banff International String Quartet Competition in Canada. She has also served as a jury member of the prestigious Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Pasadena, California.

As the violist of the Audubon Quartet since 1976, Lederer has performed extensively throughout the world and has recorded on the RCA, Telarc, and Centaur labels.

Learn more at www.dorislederer.com.

Audition Information

Shenandoah Conservatory is committed to providing exceptional opportunities for our students aligned with preparation for 21st century careers in the arts. This commitment begins with your audition! Visit the Ensemble & Production Auditions webpage for the most up-to-date information about auditioning for our music, theatre and dance ensembles and productions.

Ensemble & Production Auditions

Chamber Music Faculty

Meet Shenandoah Conservatory's chamber music faculty! Each ensemble receives weekly coachings by Shenandoah's renowned teaching artists.

Experience Shenandoah Conservatory

SHENANDOAH CONSERVATORY INVITES provides instrumental high school students multiple opportunities each year to make music with Shenandoah faculty, students and ensembles. Musicians playing string, brass, woodwind and percussion instruments will find events enabling intensive study with Shenandoah’s world-class faculty and the opportunity to make music alongside current conservatory students. Each of these events take place on Shenandoah’s beautiful Winchester campus.

Explore Upcoming Opportunities