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Oberlin Portrait: Laura Shepherd
Story and photo by
Michael
Chipman
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the Conservatory |
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faculty, staff & students |
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Connies seem to take great pleasure in their roles
as musical ambassadors throughout the world. Laura Shepherd,
a double-degree junior studying music education and theater,
is one more participant in our rich history who has packed
up the sheet music and taken it on the road. Shepherd, who
hails from Evanston, Illinois, kept it closer to Oberlin
this winter as she meshed her studies in Music Education
with her love of theater. Highlights of recent activities
include:
- Directed The Wizard of Oz in a production that featured 20 children and youth from Lorain County, ranging in age from 3-15. It was performed in Wilder Main, February 12 and 13.
- Served as Music Director for Trust-T, a musical created by fifth graders at Prospect Elementary.
- Worked as a reading tutor for third grade students at Prospect Elementary
What is your first memory of
music?
I remember my mother singing to me at night. My favorite
song was "Kitty Alone." Though it's not really a lullaby,
she would sing it to me when I went to bed. My mother is a
folk singer, and I probably heard her voice for most of my
first few years of life.
How old were you when you started
singing and playing?
I started singing in my school choir before I learned to
read, or around the same time. My two brothers and I used to
record ourselves singing, playing the piano and making up
radio plays when I was five or six. I think my family's
musical background was highly influential in my passion for
music.
What inspired you to be a musician?
What keeps you inspired on discouraging days?
I have always had extremely inspiring music teachers. I
credit them for my passion for music. My elementary school
teacher, Paul Lindblad, instilled in me a respect and joy in
music that I have never lost. In general, the songs that pop
into my head during the day keep me dedicated to creating
and sharing music.
What is the most memorable
performance you have ever seen and why?
The year after I graduated from high school, I was an
assistant teacher/music director for a summer school musical
theater class, filled with incoming freshman. We put on a
musical revue called 100 Years of Broadway, and I think that
is my most memorable performance. I sat in the audience and
was amazed at what I had helped to create. It was that
experience that made my decision to apply to the
Conservatory for a degree in music education.
If you could perform with one
musician living or dead, who would it be and what would you
perform?
I would like to sing the Fauré Requiem with
Gabriel Fauré himself conducting.
If you could master another
instrument, what would it be?
I would love to master the piano, but guitar is also at
the top of my list of instruments to know well. In an ideal
world I would learn to play both.
If you couldn't be a musician what
profession would you choose?
I think I would turn to theater, my other passion, to
perform and teach.
What do you listen to after a long
day?
It depends on the day. Tiring days call for some good
guitar and voice music, Martin Sexton, Susan Werner, Tracy
Chapman, and the like. Stressful days need to be unwound
with some good and angst-filled Ani Difranco or maybe some
passionate Beethoven, or maybe Dave Matthews Band.
What do you like to read?
Mystery novels are my favorite; I read a couple of them
over winter term. I also like comedy plays.
The three words that best describe
you:
Crazy, dedicated and creative.
