Position:
Assistant Professor, Vocal PedagogyEmail: lori.sen@132072.com
Employed Since:
Fall 2024Educational History:
B.S., Middle East Technical University; B.M., M.E., Dokuz Eylül University; M.M., Westminster Choir College; D.M.A., University of Maryland
Professional Highlights:
Turkish mezzo-soprano and Fulbright alumna Dr. Lori Şen is known for her versatility in many vocal genres, including opera, art song, musical theatre and jazz, as well as for her teaching and research interests in vocal literature, voice pedagogy and voice science. Şen regularly collaborates with musicians and composers across a variety of genres, and has performed in Turkey, Europe and the United States.
Şen’s fascination with vocal pedagogy and voice science stems from her unique path towards a career in music that began with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education degree in physics. Her deep interest in the anatomy, physiology and acoustics of the vocal instrument, as well as vocal health, and her proficiency with various vocal pedagogy software and equipment, have led to a number of research projects over the years, which were presented at conferences including The Voice Foundation Symposium and National Association of Teachers of Singing Conference in the United States, and the International Scientific and Practical Conference: “Musical Traditions in Globalizing World” in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Her research interests also focus on vocal literature. A leading expert of the Sephardic art song genre, Şen is the first ever to catalog this repertoire that comprises Western classical settings and arrangements of traditional Sephardic folk literature. She is also the first to create a Ladino diction guide exclusively for singers who would like to sing Sephardic songs in their original language. Since 2018, she has introduced this genre and her research to audiences through her solo recitals and lectures at various conferences and festivals, several organizations in the United States including the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City; Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, in Washington, D.C.; and the Barcelona Festival of Song in Spain.
Also an active performer, Şen’s recent performances include solo recitals, operatic roles (Angelina in “La Cenerentola,” Marta in “Iolanta” and La Ciesca in “Gianni Schicchi,” among others), opera chorus (Maryland Lyric Opera), and jazz performances. She especially enjoys working with composers and musicians from a variety of traditions and backgrounds in premiering new works, and has worked with names such as William Kenlon, Brian Field, Kit Young, Brian Wilbur Grundstrom and Carol Anne Bosco. Şen was featured in Kit Young’s improvisational chamber opera “What Miss Dickinson Heard – And Didn’t” that entwines improvisation, composed prompts and poems and letters of Emily Dickinson on sound and silence. She premiered the role of Lady Diana in a new musical, “Queen of the People’s Hearts,” (2021) by Angela Knight and Randal Dewey that celebrates the life of Diana, the Princess of Wales. More recently, she was featured in Iranian virtuoso violist Kimia Hesabi’s debut album “Nemāno Gaona” (2022) that comprises works of contemporary composers of the Iranian Diaspora.
Prior to Shenandoah Conservatory, Şen held teaching appointments at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Baltimore County; Howard Community College; and Frostburg State University. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance at the University of Maryland, College Park, and received her Master of Music in voice performance and pedagogy at Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, New Jersey, as a Fulbright grantee. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, in addition to a Bachelor of Music degree in voice and a Master of Education degree in physics from Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir, Turkey.
She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), The Voice Foundation, and the Fulbright Association. She also serves as an ambassador for the Barcelona Festival of Song, and is a board member at the International Florence Price Festival.
Personal Quote:“I look forward to encouraging the creativity, technical progress, and curiosity of the students at Shenandoah Conservatory, while collaborating with such a dream team of colleagues. I am so excited to share my diverse professional and cultural background with students and colleagues, and to work together with faculty, students, and staff across divisions to enhance Shenandoah University’s excellence and reputation in the performing arts and vocal pedagogy, as well as the school’s creative and intellectual environment.”