Arianna “Katie” Shea is the recipient of the first Kayoko Dan Conducting Scholarship. The scholarship will offer Shea an opportunity to work with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera’s music director, Kayoko Dan, during the 2017-18 season.
“I had many mentors as a young conductor. It’s not possible for me to pay them back, so I’ve decided to pay it forward by mentoring a younger generation of conductors. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to connect with the next generation of leaders of the symphonic world,” says Dan, who will celebrate her seventh year as the CSO’s music director and conductor in September. Her contract was recently extended through the 2021-22 season.
Shea was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and grew up in Mt. Juliet, where she began her musical studies at age 12 when she joined her school’s choir and began taking violin lessons.
In high school, Shea played violin in the Mt. Juliet High School Orchestra, “Strings of Gold,” as well as the school’s smaller ensemble, Chamber Strings.
Upon graduation, she attended Lee University, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in music with a vocal emphasis. While at Lee, Shea studied voice with Lenena Brezna and Dale Thomas and conducting with Jonathan Rodgers. In addition, she was a member of Choral Union and the Ladies of Lee as well as the Lambda Eta chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.
Currently, Shea is a graduate student at Lee University, where she’s pursuing a master’s in music degree in choral conducting.
Information: www.chattanoogasymphony.org/conducting-scholarship
Source: The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera