CURTIS NOLLEY, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
In his twenty-third season as director of the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society, Curtis Nolley leads the distinguished ensemble in its 53rd season. In addition to his responsibilities with the SVCS, Curtis serves as church musician and free-lance choral conductor. For forty-three years he served as music educator serving students as choral director and music specialist in the public schools of Augusta County, Rockingham County, and Harrisonburg City. Additionally, Curtis has directed choirs and taught music education and choral conducting at Mary Baldwin University and as Visiting Director of Choral Music at Bridgewater College from 2018-2020. Curtis continues to serve as choir director at Bridgewater Church of the Brethren. He has received recognition for his work in choral music education as the recipient of the Virginia Choral Director Association’s Sydney Swiggett Award for outstanding service and contribution to choral music education in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the James Madison University Professional Service Award recognizing outstanding service to the music education profession and James Madison University, and as Augusta County Public School’s Teacher of the Year. Under Curtis’ direction, the SVCS was presented the 2020 Circle of Excellence in the Arts Award by the Arts Council of the Valley, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at JMU. A native of the Shenandoah Valley, Curtis holds a BA in Music Education from Bridgewater College and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Curtis is active as an adjudicator and guest conductor for scholastic festival choirs across the state of Virginia. An active leader in music education, Curtis is a past president of the Virginia Music Educators Association. He continues to serve on VMEA’s executive board.