VOICE & OPERA

Opera Up Close HYDROGEN JUKEBOX

Friday, November 4 at 7:30PM

Saturday, November 5 at 7:30PM

Sunday, November 6 at 2:30PM

Shingleton Dance Space

Tickets $17

Music by Philip Glass

Lyrics by Allen Ginsberg

Set in an intimate black box studio and directed by our Director of Opera Ella Marchment, Opera Up Close features small ensembles, but big ideas. Hydrogen Jukebox (1990) is a compelling and provocative chamber opera featuring music by Philip Glass and the words of iconic beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Named for and inspired by Ginsberg’s 1955 poem Howl , Hydrogen Jukebox is a melodrama that creates a portrait of the sensory overload and upheaval of America from the 1950s through the 1980s — covering the end of World War II through the thick of the Cold War. Through a special collaboration with the Dance Division, and accompanied by a live chamber ensemble, this production powerfully explores the difficult, often ugly, growing pains of our country.

Sung in English with chamber ensemble accompaniment

Directed by Ella Marchment

Music direction by Wei-Han Wu

Assistant music direction by Gonzalo Hidalgo

Choreography by Lindsay Browning

Choral Ensembles

Sounds of the Season

Saturday, December 3 at 7:30PM

Armstrong Concert Hall

Tickets $14

Join the Conservatory Choir (Austin Thorpe, director ), Shenandoah Chorus (Hillary Ridgley, director ) and Shenandoah Voices (Jeffrey Marlatt, director ) for an evening of seasonal songs. Enjoy old and new favorites as we celebrate a time of year filled with joy, hope and love. Come early to stroll Shenandoah University's festive holiday light display and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa provided by the Shenandoah Conservatory Student Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

COLLABORATIVE ARTS: VOICE & PIANO

Beyond Race: African American Art Songs & Spirituals

Sunday, February 5 at 7:30PM

Armstrong Concert Hall

Tickets $17

Special guests Caroline Helton, soprano ; Emery Stephens, baritone ; Jamie Reimer, soprano ; and Stacie Haneline, piano explore the collaborative relationship between pianist and vocalist while powerfully tracing the development of African American Art Songs and Spirituals through some of its greatest composers.

Choral Ensembles

Shenandoah Sings

Friday, April 14 at 7:30PM

Armstrong Concert Hall

Tickets $14

Join the Conservatory Choir (Austin Thorpe, director ), Shenandoah Chorus (Hillary Ridgley, director ) and Shenandoah Voices (Jeffrey Marlatt, director ) for a dynamic evening of music spanning a variety of choral traditions.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Friday, April 28 at 7:30PM

Saturday, April 29 at 7:30PM

Sunday, April 30 at 2:30PM Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre

Tickets $25

Music by Benjamin Britten

Lyrics by Peter Pears

Set on Shenandoah Conservatory’s main proscenium stage and directed by Director of Opera Ella Marchment, our main stage production provides audiences with the full opera experience. This year’s production is based on Shakepeare’s popular and beloved comedy of mistaken identities, confused lovers and alarming transformations.

Benjamin Britten’s 1960 A Midsummer Night's Dream , which features a libretto adapted by Peter Pears, harnesses the Bard’s exceptional storytelling with Britten’s expressive and atmospheric harmonies.

Brought to vivid life through Marchment’s fresh and inventive staging, and backed by the full force of the Symphony Orchestra, audiences will be transported to a beguiling and enchanting world where fantasy and reality intertwine.

Sung in English with subtitles

Directed by Ella Marchment

Music direction by Jan Wagner