International Flute Player Teaches at Shenandoah University
By: Hayley Mason
Updated: January 30, 2013
WINCHESTER, VA- He's an acclaimed musician from London who's played on the world's stage.
Now, Jonathan Snowden has found a new home at Shenandoah University and is hoping to bring local students into the professional music world.
"This is better than I've ever dreamt," says Professor Snowden.
Snowden has played the flute with major orchestras in the UK, including the Royal Philharmonic. He's also played the flute in movies like The Dark Knight, Aladdin, and Dark Shadows. He's now preparing local students to be able to achieve the same level of success.
"Something that I would also encourage a candidate for an orchestra, actually turning up with a lot of music," says Snowden. "Not just the prescribed music, but to say to the panel 'what would you like to hear?'"
Professor Snowden tries to instill in his students that the flute is not just an instrument, but a vehicle that can take them from the stage at Shenandoah to stages across the world.
He says he wants his students to convey all of life's emotions through their music, something he believes will help open doors and move audiences.
He plans to build a full flute studio in the conservatory.
"I would like to just raise the quality of people that come here by opening up a vision of how to express feelings that they feel inside them. Then how to translate that into flute playing terms," Snowden says.
Just in his second semester, he's looking forward to raising the bar for the program. So far he's hitting the right note.
Snowden will be hosting a music camp July 29th through August 2nd in Alexandria. For more information you can contact Rebecca Collaros at rcollaros@levineschool.org.
