Our alumni include Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winners. They have debuted at Carnegie Hall, appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera, and they hold positions in orchestras and chamber music groups around the country and the globe. The list of achievements from our students past and present is always growing. In almost five decades, we have become a leading international music school, making us both one of the youngest and one of the most prestigious university-level programs in the country.
Recent Student and Alumni Successes
Recent Orchestra Placements include: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Houston Ballet Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, President's Own Marine Band, Rochester Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Wichita Symphony, and more.
Current Artist Diploma student Jaewon Wee won first place in the 2023 Mirecourt International Violin Competition.
Several Shepherd School alumni received nominations for the 66th Grammy Awards.
• Tenor Karim Sulayman’s (MM ’01) album “Broken Branches” was nominated for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
• James Gaffigan (MM ’03) was recognized for his work as conductor with the Bergen Philharmonic on Missy Mazzoli’s album “Dark with Excessive Bright” nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
• Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw (BM ’04) performed with vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth on its album “Rough Magic,” which was nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
• Three Shepherd School alumni performed with choral group Conspirare on its album “House of Belonging,” nominated for Best Choral Performance. Soprano Chelsea Helm (MM ’17) is featured on the album. Melissa Givens (MM ’92) and Sarah Brauer (MM ’08) also perform on the record.
The Balourdet Quartet (formed in 2018 at the Shepherd School of Music) will receive the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons. Members include alumni Angela Bae (BM '20, violin), Justin DeFilippis (MM '20, violin), Benjamin Zannoni (MM '20, viola), and Russell Houston (MM '20, cello).
Baritone Luke Sutliff (MM ’21) won second place in the 2023 Operalia Competition.
Bass-baritone James McCarthy (MM ’23) was accepted into the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship.
Current composition student Jaylin Vinson was selected to participate in a 3-year commissioning project from the Kennedy Center called the Cartography Project. The three years will culminate in a Washington National Opera commission of a 20-30-minute length opera that will be premiered at the Kennedy Center in January 2025.
Bryan Anderson (MM ’18) won the coveted Pierre S. du Pont first prize of $40,000 at the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.
Current undergraduate student Xayvion Davidson (bassoon), won first place and audience favorite at the inaugural Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition.
Hannah Che (BM '17 and MM '19, piano) won the 2023 James Beard Foundation Book Award for her cookbook ‘The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition’.
Current DMA student Jonathan Mak won first prize and $20,000 CAD at the Bader & Overton Canadian Piano Competition.
The Trio Menil won the Grand Prize and Odyssey Chamber Music Series Award at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition. The trio is made up of current Shepherd School students Jeongwon Claire An (violin), and Jonathan Mak (piano), and Shepherd School alum David Dietz (MM '22, cello).
Current DMA candidate in music composition, Badie Khaleghian received the Presser Foundation’s 2023 Presser Graduate Music Award.
Current graduate student Christian Harvey (double bass) was named a 2022-2023 Shepherd School-Houston Symphony Brown Foundation Community Embedded Fellow.