Student Recital
Shawne Workman
Departments
Courses Taught
MIDI Workshop
Education
PSD in TAC, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
MM in Composition, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Los Alamos, New Mexico
What are you passionate about outside of music?
dance
What is your favorite recording? Why?
My mom's vinyl copy of The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, "Faithful Friends. . . Flattering Foe” for nostalgia and their uninhibited collisions of classical and 1960’s rock aesthetics.
Who were your major teachers?
Elinor Armer, Arkadi Serper and Lennie Moore
What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?
Anything they worry might be too basic to ask. (It isn't -- and someone else is probably wondering the same thing.)
What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?
Performing Britten's 'Ceremony of Carols' with the Northern NM Children's Choir on tour as a kid. That was when I first started to realize that nothing else could match up.
What was a turning point in your career?
Starting to compose again after some years away from music. Difficult. Soul-searing. Irresistible.
If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?
Freelance writing/editing, mostly life sciences
If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
Tallis, Mendelssohn, Pärt
From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you, and why?
Paris, 1910 -- Firebird premiere
Biography
For concert and media composer Shawne (S. A.) Workman, creating with sound or text is about emotional flow – searching for the rare ebb and flood of narrative, imagery, and sonority that can raise the hair on your arms. She aims to keep chasing those goosebumps through concert music, lyrics and librettos, and media collaborations.
Events
News
opera and musical theatre
A New Twist on an Old Classic: SFCM's 'Cendrillon' Brings Cinderella to the 21st Century
May 3, 2024
performances
Leveling Up! SFCM Forms 'Video Game Orchestra' for Industry Conference
May 1, 2024
Alliances
Historical Rep Ensemble Il Pomo D'Oro Spends Week at SFCM
April 29, 2024