On Main Hall Green With Shannon Gravelle: Uplifting voices in choral music

About the series: On Main Hall Green With … is an opportunity to connect with faculty on things in and out of the classroom. We’re featuring a different Lawrence faculty member each time — same questions, different answers.

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Shannon Gravelle, co-director of choral studies, arrived at Lawrence University in fall of 2024 with a passion for choral music and deep experience in leading accomplished choirs and young talent. 

The assistant professor of music led choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for several years and she serves as the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Concert Choir Chair at the Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival, a four-week immersive music experience for high school students. She previously worked as director of choral activities/coordinator of music education at Meredith College. 

Gravelle holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Iowa, a Master of Music from California State University Long Beach, and a bachelor’s degree with a major in music from Luther College.

We caught up with Gravelle to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

I truly believe your voice matters. That is not a gimmick. What each person contributes to our community is important, and since I teach primarily collaborative learning courses (choir), it matters that every voice is uplifted. Everyone’s contribution has an impact.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at Lawrence that gets you the most excited?

I’m very excited to create more access to choir for all students across campus. The choral program has a rich and beautiful history of amazing music-making—a tradition that has been celebrated nationally—and I look forward to continuing that tradition with a wider community.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional, or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I always anticipated that I would move all over the country for graduate school and to find jobs that would be good fits. I grew up in Minnesota, and have lived in Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska, and North Carolina. Imagine my surprise when I was offered the position at Lawrence and realized I would land back in the upper Midwest at a school whose choirs I have seen perform for years at national and regional conventions. What a joyful surprise.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?  

If I weren’t teaching for a living, I’d love to either be a barista at an independent coffee shop—such beautiful places of community—or an advocate of some kind to empower others.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

I’m new, so I am still discovering all the places on campus. I will look forward to my new office in Fall 2025, but besides that, I love all of the rehearsal spaces. Those spaces are engaging and active. I’m open to recommendations for spaces to check out.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

The book I’ve recommended to a lot of friends recently is Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women. In addition to being a runner, I have a passion for understanding how barriers within systems came to exist. I’m not really a person who watches many films. And I can’t pick one recording. I recommend live performances for truly formative experiences. Come to a choir concert on campus.

Find more faculty profiles in the On Main Hall Green With ... series here