semester highlights
Mancha” (June 11 to June 22) followed
by “Spamalot” (June 25 to July 6), “The
King and I” (July 9 to July 20) and “Mary
Poppins” (July 23 to Aug. 3). Equity actors
Stephen Paul Cramer, who portrayed
Jean Valjean, and Christoper Sanders,
who portrayed Jarvet in the SSMT 2013
rendition of “Les Misérables,” return
again this season to portray King Arthur
in Monty Python's “Spamalot” and
Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha,”
respectively. To purchase tickets, call
the box office at 540-665-4569 or go to
shenanadoahsummermusictheatre.com.
slice of Depression-era American life in a
dangerously fundamentalist town, written
by Jim Leonard Jr. and directed by Assistant
Professor of Theatre/Acting J.J. Ruscella,
M.F.A. In April, it presented “The Hollow,”
a stirring retelling of Washington Irving’s
Headless Horseman adventure directed by
Signature Theatre’s Eric Schaeffer.
PERFORMANCES
Cantus Singers and Shenandoah
Chorus, directed by Professor of Voice
Karen Keating, D.M.A., performed
Bach cantatas as heard in “Mr. Holland’s
Opus” and “A League of Their Own,”
Mozart’s “Requiem” as heard in “Amadeus”
and “Elizabeth” as well as Gershwin’s
lighthearted “I Got Rhythm” from “An
American in Paris.”
Performing Arts Live series featured Third
Coast Percussion, a sonic repertoire of
works by John Cage, Frederic Rzewski and
Shenandoah Conservatory’s own Assistant
Professor of Composition David T. Little,
Ph.D. In March, “Something So Right”
featured the music of the legendary Paul
Simon performed by New York’s acclaimed
LehrerDance and MusicalFare Theatre
companies. In April, the internationally
renowned Assad Family performed classical
and Brazilian repertoires.
The World of the Piano featured a
performance by Artist-in-Residence and
Professor of Piano John O’Conor to
honor J.J. and Kay Smith, who purchased
a Hamburg Steinway D concert piano
handpicked by O’Conor for the Armstrong
Concert Hall stage.
Main Stage Opera performed Jules
Massenet’s “Cendrillon” (“Cinderella”)
directed by Richard Kagey and featuring
the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Jan Wagner.
Shenandoah Conservatory Dance
presented its fall, senior and spring
dance concerts featuring Shenandoah
Conservatory dance students performing
the works of faculty artists and
choreographers Associate Professor of
Dance Erica Helm, M.F.A.; Adjunct
Auxiliary Professor of Dance Alan Arnett,
M.F.A.; Visiting Associate Professor Bob
Boross, M.A.; Guest Artist and Instructor
Tiffanie Carson, M.F.A.; Associate
Professor of Dance Ting-Yu Chen, M.F.A.;
Associate Professor of Dance Maurice
Fraga, M.F.A.; Jazz Dance Guest Artist-inResidence Stephanie Martinez and Adjunct
Lecturer Linda Miller.
Shenandoah Conservatory Jazz
Ensemble hosted the music of Stan
Kenton presented by Jazz Composer-inResidence and Adjunct Associate Professor
of Jazz Studies Alan Baylock ’11. Other
jazz performances included guest artists
Delores King-Williams performing the
music of Ella Fitzgerald and Tyler Kuebler
performing “Saxophone Colossus.”
Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony
Orchestra performed Carl Orff’s
“Camina Burana” featuring Shenandoah
Conservatory choirs. The concert also
Music Production & Recording Technology (MPRT) students and Associate Professor of MPRT Golder
O’Neill, M.M.E., ’92 traveled to New York City to attend the Audio Engineering Society Convention.
Photo: Shenandoah Conservatory
Main Stage Theatre presented “To Kill a
Mockingbird,” a play by Christopher Sergel
based on the novel by Harper Lee and
directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre/
Acting J.J. Ruscella, M.F.A. In February, it
presented “The Secret Garden,” an adaption
of the classic novel by Frances Hodgson
Burnett and directed by Assistant Professor
of Theatre Carolyn Coulson, Ph.D.
Shenandoah Second Stage Theatre
presented “Five Women Wearing the Same
Dress,” a comedy about five disgruntled
bridesmaids written by Alan Ball and
directed by Musical Theatre Program
Director and Associate Professor of
Music Theatre Jonathan Flom, M.F.A.
In March, it presented “The Diviners,” a
Pictured left to right: Professor of Piano Elizabeth
Temple, Shenandoah University Trustee Marjorie Lewis,
Artist-in-Residence and Professor of Piano John O’Conor,
Kay Smith, President Tracy Fitzsimmons, J.J. Smith and
Shenandoah Conservatory Dean Michael Stepniak
magazine
Photo: Jason López
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