Shavon Lloyd (b. 1997) is an award-winning composer, baritone, conductor, and music educator. As a young musician, Shavon has already had the opportunity to perform for a wide variety of audiences and compose for numerous ensembles from K-12 to professional groups.
From Middletown, NY, Lloyd began his journey as a dedicated musician in 2014 when he won his first composition contest at the age of 17. His piece, "Untitled", was selected as the grand prize winner of the Manhattan Choral Ensemble's "New Music for New York" composition contest. After that moment, Lloyd solidified his decision in studying music at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Here he continued his compositional journey under the tutelage of Dr. David Heuser, winning a second contest in Washington, D.C. for his choral piece, "So Breaks the Sun", which was premiered by the 18th Street Singers in July of 2018. Since then Lloyd, has been commissioned for works at the K-12 levels, collegiate choral programs, and established professional concert choirs. Recently, Shavon won a third composition contest in July 2019, sponsored by the Orpheus Chamber Singers in Dallas, Texas. In March 2020, the group premiered his work for double choir, "Alleluia".
As a baritone, Shavon has had the opportunity to perform alongside Patti LuPone, Lisa Vroman, Canadian Brass, and other professional soloists and ensembles. While studying with Dr. Lonel Woods, he became a 2-time winner of the CFLNY-NATS Singing Competition, and featured soloist throughout New York. At Crane, he had the pleasure of soloing in Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music and Mozart's Mass in C minor under the baton of Maestros Duain Wolfe and Kent Tritle, respectively. He has also taken part in opera and musical theatre productions at Crane, including playing the role of the Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" and Jamie in Jason Robert Brown's "The Last Five Years". Off-campus, Shavon has participated in performance showcases for Music for Humanity, based in Orange County, NY, and has had many high-profile performances. Most recently, Lloyd performed at the inauguration of the SUNY Chancellor, Kristina M. Johnson, at the iconic New York Public Library. In May 2020, Shavon won the Classical Singer Musical Theatre Competition for Pre-Professionals.
Shavon is an active participant in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), contributing to both the Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Representation (BEDR) Committee, and the Composition Committee. Regarding music education, his interests include student-centered learning through democracy and creativity in the music classroom. For the past three years, he has put this mindset into practice as the Vocal/General Music Teacher at Indian River High School in Philadelphia, NY.
This fall, Lloyd will begin pursuing his Master of Music in Vocal Performance degree at The Juilliard School in New York City.