Following an extensive nation-wide search, Ieva Jokubaviciute, M.M., has been appointed assistant professor of piano at Shenandoah Conservatory beginning fall 2015. She will succeed professor of piano Elizabeth Temple, M.M., who is retiring after having served on the piano faculty at Shenandoah Conservatory for more than 50 years.
“We are thrilled that Ieva is joining our faculty,” says Shenandoah Conservatory Dean Michael Stepniak, Ed.D. “Professor Temple’s shoes are not easy to fill, but Ieva brings with her an exceptional musical sensitivity, passion for teaching, enthusiasm in chamber music and collegiality that make her a great fit for our conservatory. These qualities will quickly make her a cherished colleague and teacher.”
Jokubaviciute has quickly become admired for her exceptional sensitivity and musicality, and has established a powerful performing presence in the United States and Europe. She is an active chamber musician and collaborator, and has fast become a favorite at the Marlboro Music Festival (one of the preeminent chamber music festivals in the world today), where she has mentored and coached chamber ensembles since 2013. Jokubaviciute appears regularly at other major international music festivals, including: Ravinia, Bard, Caramoor, Chesapeake Chamber Music, Prussia Cove in England and the Katrina Festival in Finland. Her piano trio—Trio Cavatina— won the Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition in 2009, made their debut performance at Carnegie Hall in 2010, and tours throughout the United States. In addition to her collaborative performances, Jokubaviciute has performed as soloist with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Lithuanian National Symphony.
Her performances regularly draw exceptional praise from leading critics. As The New York Times reported, “…anyone who has heard this young Lithuanian pianist — in one of her infrequent New York recitals, as a member of the Naumburg Award-winning Trio Cavatina or as a most valuable player in season after season at the Bard Music Festival — knows that she is an artist of commanding technique, refined temperament and persuasive insight.” The Washington Post recently noted “Jokubaviciute may have stolen the show a bit in an absolutely jaw-dropping performance — subtle, complex, almost impossibly detailed and riveting in every way.”
Jokubaviciute joins Shenandoah Conservatory as a deeply invested teacher. In 2012, she served on the piano faculty and helped develop a vocal accompanying class at Lawrence Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin, as the sabbatical replacement for Michael Mizrahi. For the past few years, Jokubaviciute has actively contributed to George Washington University’s Summer Piano Institute by creating curriculum, coaching ensembles, teaching lessons and leading panel discussions. Jokubaviciute also holds extensive teaching experience at Bard College, Steans Institute for Young Artists and Music School of Westchester.
Jokubaviciute was awarded a Borletti-Buioni Trust Fellowship in 2006 to develop her potential as an emerging artist. She earned her degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and from Mannes College of Music in New York City. Her principal teachers include Seymour Lipkin and Richard Goode.