Shannon Gravelle (she/her)

Dr. Shannon Gravelle is assistant professor of music in the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University, serving as the Co-director of Choral Studies and as music education faculty. She is also The Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Concert Choir Chair at Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival, a 4-week-long immersive music experience for high school students across the country. Her current research focuses on conducting pedagogy and how the identity points of young conductors affect the way they learn conducting. She is committed to equity work within her field and higher education, and advocacy is a centerpiece of her community building. Other areas of research also include silenced voices in music, the choral works of Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, the early choral works of Johannes Brahms, the life and works of Barbara Strozzi, and music education advocacy.  

Dr. Gravelle has been an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for choirs in North Carolina, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Illinois, has presented at regional and national conferences, and has led professional development for K-12 music teachers in multiple states. She has served as a church music director, choral conductor, hand bell conductor, pianist, and vocal soloist. Her publications can be found in Notes, Carolina Caroler, The Choral Scholar, ChoralNet, and The Choral Journal. She is a member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and serves as the Midwestern ACDA Student Activities Chair and as Diversity Initiatives Chair for Wisconsin ACDA. She is also a member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and sits on the national board member and is the women-identifying affinity group liaison. Her other memberships are in the National Association for Music Education, College Music Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda music honor society. Dr. Gravelle also founded and serves on the leadership team of WiCHEd (Women in Choral Higher Education), an organization dedicated to supporting women-identifying choral conductors as they navigate barriers and successes in higher education. In addition to conducting and scholarly activities, she enjoys singing, playing piano and guitar, identifying ways to collaborate with other musicians, running, and going to baseball games. She has sung at a TED talk given by Eric Whitacre and, true to the life of a rockstar, has sung back-up for the Rolling Stones.