First Name:
Prof. Natalie
Last Name:
Shaffer
Main Title:
Artist in Residence – Director of Choral Activities
Type:
Area(s):
Natalie Shaffer (she/her) joins the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University as Artist in Residence – Director of Choral Activities for the 2024-2025 academic year. Prof. Shaffer is a choral scholar, artist, music educator, and conductor focused on collaborative social justice through choral musicking and transformative pedagogy. She is a native West Virginian with a desire to foster and support choral artistry in Appalachia. Prof. Shaffer previously held the position of Director of Choral Activities at Emory & Henry College and lectured at West Virginia University, Glenville State University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Washington and Jefferson College. She currently serves as both Social Justice and World Musics and Cultures Chair for the WV ACDA chapter. Prof. Shaffer is an active guest clinician, in-service facilitator, and presenter with engagements throughout the US. Shaffer is also the co-founder of Maestri Vocale Treble, a semi-professional group using a collaborative leadership model and featuring treble voice singers from across the state of West Virginia since 2021.
Prof. Shaffer is an ABD doctoral candidate at West Virginia University and her dissertation No Sweeter Sound: Musicking, Transformative Pedagogy, and Collaborative Social Justice in Choral Settings highlights two different choral performances centering social justice issues reflective of the surrounding community, addiction and LGBTQ+ individuals. She has earned degrees from West Virginia University (M.M. Conducting and M.M. Musicology) and West Virginia Wesleyan College (B.M.E.).