Shawn Davern is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in wind
conducting at James Madison University, where he serves as the graduate
assistant of the university’s concert and athletic band program under the
direction of Dr. Stephen Bolstad. As graduate assistant, Davern’s
responsibilities include assisting with the administration and instruction of
the JMU Marching Royal Dukes, co-directing the JMU Pep Band, and working with
all aspects of the Concert Band program.
Prior to his appointment at James Madison University, Shawn received his
Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Boston University. During his time in
Massachusetts, Shawn was the recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Music
Educators Association Promising Young Music Educator Award. Davern served as
the President, Vice President, and Treasurer of Boston University’s National
Association for Music Education Collegiate Chapter. Davern is the Founder and
former Music Director of Boston University’s Secondary Instrument Ensemble, a
music group geared towards the teaching and mastering of secondary instruments
to any Boston University student. He also served as Coordinator of Jazz
Ensembles at Boston University and Manager of the Boston University Big Band.
Shawn completed his student teaching in the Foxborough Public Schools under the
direction of music education luminary Mr. Stephen C. Massey. Prior to student
teaching in the Foxborough Public Schools, Davern provided private lessons to
inner city students at Boston English High School through the Boston Philharmonic
Orchestra’s Crescendo! Education and Community Engagement Program. He also
provided free private lessons to inner city students of Jamaica Plain Manning
Elementary School through Boston University’s Making Music program. As a
trombonist, Davern has performed with the Boston University Symphony Orchestra,
Wind Ensemble, Big Band, Jazz Combos, and Trombone Choir. He has studied with
Don Lucas, Jeffrey Gray and Harold Reynolds. He also attended the Royal College
of Music in London, studying with Amos Miller and Richard Edwards, as well as
performing with their Symphony Orchestra, Swing Band and Big Band. Shawn has
also had the privilege of studying wind conducting with David J. Martins and
Stephen C. Massey. Davern has appeared as a guest conductor with the Boston
University Trombone Choir in concert. In February 2017, Shawn was personally
invited and participated in the Art of Conducting Workshop, held at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock, Texas under the direction of Dr. Sarah McKoin. In
addition to his work as an aspiring music educator and conductor, Davern is
also an avid composer and arranger specializing in brass, jazz, and wind band
music. He is passionate about adding new compositions and arrangements to the
repertoire of contemporary classical and jazz idioms, having penned over 40
pieces. Davern’s compositions and arrangements have been performed in the
United States and the United Kingdom. Davern’s arrangement of Pure Imagination,
set for trombone and piano, was written for and performed by Toby Oft,
principal trombone of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Other future engagements
include arranging for the Boston Brass, in collaboration with James Madison
University Marching Royal Dukes. Davern’s works for trombone choir have been
performed by the Boston University Trombone Choir, the Eastman Trombone Choir,
and the Ithaca College Trombone Troupe. His works for trombone choir have also
been performed at the Third Coast Trombone Retreat and the 26th Annual Fruhling
Posaunen at Ithaca College. Davern’s jazz band and jazz combo arrangements have
been featured by the Boston University Big Band, Jazz Combos, the Royal College
of Music Big Band and the twelve time Essentially Ellington Finalist Foxborough
Jazz Ensemble. His big band chart, entitled A Thing Like That, is the official
theme song of the Boston University Big Band and has been played at every
performance since the piece’s conception in the fall of 2016. His composition
And There Will Be A Story: A Sonata for Trombone and Piano was a featured
selection in the final rounds of the Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry
Awards, commissioned and performed by trombonist and Bowling Green State
University faculty member Brittany Lasch. Davern’s composition Make the Moment
is published by Warwick Music.
Shawn Davern
