The Shenandoah Conservatory undergraduate Guitar Ensemble and graduate Guitar Consort are the performing ensembles of the Shenandoah’s guitar studio. Groups perform repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the present day, exploring music that represents a wide range of musical styles, cultural backgrounds and historical influences. Recent performances have featured music by Taiwo Adegoke, Annette Kruisbrink, Chiquinha Gonzaga, J.S. Bach, Antoine de Lhoyer and more.
In addition to works for multiple guitars, students perform in collaboration with other instrumentalists and vocalists throughout the conservatory.
Members of the ensembles share their work in performances at Shenandoah’s annual Guitar Day (including collaborations with guest artists and local/regional high school and middle school students), in showcase concerts in Goodson Chapel – Recital Hall, and in community performances in and around Winchester.
Meet the Director
Hailed as “the real thing, a player with a virtuoso’s technique, a deeply expressive musicianship, and a probing imagination” (American Record Guide) who “has the distinct ability to wring the depths of expressiveness from all that he plays” (Classical Guitar Magazine), and for his “precision, musical intelligence and passion” (Cleveland Classical), guitarist Colin Davin has emerged as one of today’s most dynamic artists. Performance highlights include concertos with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Aiken Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and Richmond Symphony; collaborations with Sharon Isbin at the 92nd Street Y, Chautauqua Institution, and Baltimore Classical Guitar Society; and performances with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Edward Arron.
In 2015, Davin appeared as a featured musical guest on the final season of “The Late Show with David Letterman” in duo with the late Jessye Norman. He has performed across the world, including at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (on historic instruments from the museum’s collection), the ELLNORA Festival, the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the Paris Conservatoire, the Fridge Fringe in Dubai, and venues throughout the United States and Canada. His collaborators include GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Estelí Gomez and Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal harpist Emily Levin. He has been a regular guest artist at the Aspen Music Festival, and has four times been a guest teacher at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Davin’s solo recording, “The Infinite Fabric of Dreams” has been praised as “some of the finest interpretations I’ve heard…achingly beautiful…a thoughtful, perceptive interpretation, filled with details often missed” (American Record Guide) and “a first-rate disc…Davin knows the pieces deeply and delivers virtuosic and exciting performances…” (Soundboard Magazine). An active player in the American contemporary music scene, he has performed with Contemporaneous, Talea Ensemble, Nu Deco Ensemble, Present Music, Axiom, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, ensemblenewSRQ, and Mimesis Ensemble. Davin has premiered dozens of new works, and currently operates the Century Guitar Project, an initiative that promotes new repertoire for the guitar through commissioning, performance, and recording. He also serves as Director of the Artistic Advisory Committee for the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP), and organization dedicated to strengthening the artistic engagement of the Northeast Ohio community by championing the creation and performance of new music.
Colin Davin is the newly appointed director of the guitar studio and associate professor of guitar at Shenandoah Conservatory. He previously served as co-head of the guitar department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and on the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. In demand for his insights in masterclasses and lectures, he has been invited to teach in a guest capacity at institutions including The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Arizona State University, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has won numerous prizes in international competitions, and was a two-time finalist in the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. He holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Sharon Isbin; a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California with William Kanengiser; and underwent preparatory studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Jason Vieaux.
Colin Davin performs on a guitar by Joshia de Jonge with Augustine Strings.
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! As the arts industry has responded to our current reality by modifying rehearsal and audition practices, Shenandoah Conservatory has also adopted the most recent industry standards, while maintaining a commitment to innovation and collaboration. Visit the Ensemble & Production Auditions webpage for the most up-to-date information about auditioning for our music, theatre and dance ensembles and productions.