Michael Slon, Conductor

Active as a conductor of choral, orchestral, and operatic repertoire, Michael Slon is currently Conductor of the University Singers, Chamber Singers, and recent Interim Conductor of the Charlottesville & University Symphony at the University of Virginia, where he also serves as Assistant Professor of Music. Recent repertoire with the choruses has included Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, the Brahms Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach Cantata 150, Palestrina Missa Brevis, and a range of shorter a cappella and accompanied works. And after substituting on one hour’s notice for a January 2005 performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1, Mr. Slon has led the Symphony in performances of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Together with Symphony Executive Director Bill Martin, he also launched the University Singers-CUSO Family Holiday Concerts.

Opera and musical theatre engagements have included a production of Stephen Paulus’s The Three Hermits with Buffalo’s Opera Sacra, Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George with the Heritage Repertory Theatre, and serving as resident conductor and coach with the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, where he conducted performances of South Pacific and The Magic Flute. In addition, he is active as a guest conductor for honors orchestras and choruses.

Prior to UVA, Mr. Slon served as visiting conducting faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory, and as assistant conductor of Cincinnati's May Festival Chorus, in which roles he prepared and co-prepared choruses for concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His ensembles have worked with artists including Moses Hogan, Bobby McFerrin, Meredith Monk, and Franz Welser-Möst. Mr. Slon holds degrees from the Indiana University School of Music and Cornell University, where he was named a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is also a pianist and writer – his first book Songs from the Hill came out in 1998, and he is currently at work on a Leonard Bernstein project.

Sarah Nalls, Accompanist

Sarah Nalls is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia where she received a B.A. with high distinction in Music and Spanish. She worked as the accompanist for the Virginia Women's Chorus and continues to accompany the University Singers and the UVa Chamber Singers. Sarah toured France and Italy with the Virginia Women’s Chorus in January of 2005 and the Mid-Atlantic with the University Singers in January of 2007. In addition, she accompanies for several voice studios at UVA and VCU and directs the Junior Choir at St. Paul’s Memorial Church in Charlottesville. Sarah worked this summer in Pennsylvania as the pianist for the Upper Darby Summer Stage production of Ragtime. She was also the music director at the Wolf Performing Arts Center, where she taught music to campers in preparation for weekly original musical theatre productions. Additional recent performances include a cabaret production at the Red Room at the Society Hill Playhouse, summer camp productions at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and concerts with the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra.