Shirl Jae Atwell
Shirl Jae Atwell earned her Bachelors from Kansas State Teacher’s College and a Master of Music Theory/Composition degree from the University of Louisville. She also completed four years of post-graduate work in composition at the University of South Carolina.
In 1984, Ms. Atwell won the Clifford Shaw Memorial Award for Kentucky composers; was commissioned to write Fear Not, Little Flock for the 175th anniversary of the Little Flock Baptist Church; and saw the New York City debut of her first opera, Sagegrass. In 1991, another of her operas, Esta Hargis, was premiered at Emporia State University (Kansas), followed shortly by the 1992 premiere of Dandelion, a work for string orchestra premiered by the Jefferson County (Kentucky) All-County Middle School Orchestra. The Southern Baptist Seminary Orchestra in Louisville premiered her Movements Four South, an orchestral suite in 1993. That year also saw the placement of six Shirl Jae Atwell scores in the permanent collection of the Paris Bibliotheque Internationale de Musique Contemporaine at the invitation of the Contemporary Music International Information Service.
Ms. Atwell was named the 1996 winner of the National School Orchestra Association Composition Contest with her original work Modus á 4. She is also the winner of the Texas Orchestra Director’s Association Composition Contest with her string orchestra piece, Drifen.
Lucy, the ballet with original music by Ms. Atwell and choreography by Alun Jones, was premiered by the Louisville Ballet in January, 1999. Lucy was inspired by the discovery of a 3.2 million-year old skeleton, and was the subject of a Kentucky Education documentary that was aired on November 10, 1999. In June, 2000, the televised production of Lucy was awarded the Arts & Culture Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; in July a Certificate of Merit was awarded to Lucy by Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for program performance. In 2002, the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina recorded the music to Lucy which is available on Albany Records. The CD also features Atwell’s orchestral suite Movements Four South, and three string orchestra works, Pulsar, Meander, and Drifen.
Ms. Atwell is a commissioned composer, having written works for string and full orchestra. She has been commissioned by the McEachern High School String Orchestra of Powder Springs, GA, the Oceanfront String Orchestra of Virginia Beach, VA, and the 2007 Kentucky All-State Orchestra. In 2008, Ms. Atwell was commissioned to write a full orchestra work in honor of Lincoln’s bicentennial and it was premiered in early 2009 by the Louisville Orchestra. She has also completed work on her second ballet suite entitled Evoquer.
An active composer with many commissions and publications to her credit, Ms. Atwell retired in 2007 from full-time teaching with the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky. Since then, she has served on retainer for JCPS as an interim, substitute, and consulting orchestra teacher while still dedicating all available time to composing, conducting, arranging, and presenting. Ms. Atwell is a member of ASCAP.
In 1984, Ms. Atwell won the Clifford Shaw Memorial Award for Kentucky composers; was commissioned to write Fear Not, Little Flock for the 175th anniversary of the Little Flock Baptist Church; and saw the New York City debut of her first opera, Sagegrass. In 1991, another of her operas, Esta Hargis, was premiered at Emporia State University (Kansas), followed shortly by the 1992 premiere of Dandelion, a work for string orchestra premiered by the Jefferson County (Kentucky) All-County Middle School Orchestra. The Southern Baptist Seminary Orchestra in Louisville premiered her Movements Four South, an orchestral suite in 1993. That year also saw the placement of six Shirl Jae Atwell scores in the permanent collection of the Paris Bibliotheque Internationale de Musique Contemporaine at the invitation of the Contemporary Music International Information Service.
Ms. Atwell was named the 1996 winner of the National School Orchestra Association Composition Contest with her original work Modus á 4. She is also the winner of the Texas Orchestra Director’s Association Composition Contest with her string orchestra piece, Drifen.
Lucy, the ballet with original music by Ms. Atwell and choreography by Alun Jones, was premiered by the Louisville Ballet in January, 1999. Lucy was inspired by the discovery of a 3.2 million-year old skeleton, and was the subject of a Kentucky Education documentary that was aired on November 10, 1999. In June, 2000, the televised production of Lucy was awarded the Arts & Culture Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; in July a Certificate of Merit was awarded to Lucy by Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for program performance. In 2002, the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina recorded the music to Lucy which is available on Albany Records. The CD also features Atwell’s orchestral suite Movements Four South, and three string orchestra works, Pulsar, Meander, and Drifen.
Ms. Atwell is a commissioned composer, having written works for string and full orchestra. She has been commissioned by the McEachern High School String Orchestra of Powder Springs, GA, the Oceanfront String Orchestra of Virginia Beach, VA, and the 2007 Kentucky All-State Orchestra. In 2008, Ms. Atwell was commissioned to write a full orchestra work in honor of Lincoln’s bicentennial and it was premiered in early 2009 by the Louisville Orchestra. She has also completed work on her second ballet suite entitled Evoquer.
An active composer with many commissions and publications to her credit, Ms. Atwell retired in 2007 from full-time teaching with the Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky. Since then, she has served on retainer for JCPS as an interim, substitute, and consulting orchestra teacher while still dedicating all available time to composing, conducting, arranging, and presenting. Ms. Atwell is a member of ASCAP.
