David McCormick, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, has been named to the board of directors of Early Music America.
Early Music America’s mission is to develop, strengthen and celebrate early music in North America. Its members include professional and amateur performers, educators, ensembles, presenters, instrument makers and philanthropists, among others.
“It is a great honor to be elected to the Early Music America Board of Directors,” McCormick said. “I have a strong desire to give back to this organization that has provided me with many wonderful opportunities. As a resident of Virginia, I hope to represent budding early music scenes in the Shenandoah Valley, central Virginia and the Carolinas.”
McCormick first became acquainted with EMA as a student member. The organization sponsored his appearance at the Young Performers Festival, part of the Boston Early Music Festival, and later awarded McCormick an educational outreach grant that supported a series of concerts on the music of Thomas Jefferson’s era in Charlottesville schools.
In addition to his Bach Festival involvement, McCormick is also the founding artistic director of Charlottesville-based Early Music Access Project and a co-founder of Alkemie, a medieval ensemble based in New York City. In 2017, he was honored with Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award.
EMA defines early music as music of the medieval, renaissance, baroque and classical eras (classical being understood as pre-mainstream classical) played on reproduction or historic instruments — though McCormick notes that the genre is also still defining itself: “It’s growing tentacles as we speak, but accurate to say that we strive to stay true to the aesthetics of the musicians of the particular time period.”
This veracity “requires the right hardware, period instruments and vocal techniques, and the right software: performance style, improvisatory skills, understanding of traditions and conventions,” according to EMA.
McCormick is in his fourth year as the festival’s executive director, which among many other events, features a week-long Virginia Baroque Performance Academy. An immersive workshop provides players of all levels with experience in technique and interpretation through masterclasses and coaching sessions.
“It is really a delight to oversee this,” McCormick said, “since it’s exactly an event like this that really shaped my career.”
McCormick earned his bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in violin performance from Shenandoah University. While there, he was encouraged to explore baroque music by a staff member in the registrar’s office who played baroque basoon. But his career stayed on a more traditional path, despite hearing the artistic promise of a favorite Bach recording performed by a baroque violinist.
McCormick first played baroque violin on a borrowed instrument at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute.
“I literally came home from Oberlin and bought a baroque violin,” he said. “That experience completely changed the trajectory of my career.”
He finished an artist’s diploma at Shenandoah University while traveling to learn from baroque teachers in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, and also earned a master’s degree in medieval Renaissance and Baroque music from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Congratulations, David, on an appointment well-deserved! It is good to know your many contributions are being recognized. This is not only a feather in your cap but a feather in the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival – we are proud to have you as our Executive Director and delighted that your influence and reach has been extended.
Early Music America is fortunate to have you as are we.