Paul McShee

Assistant Professor

Described by the Baltimore Sun as both a “lyrical and rhythmically incisive” conductor, Paul McShee, incoming assistant professor of music and artistic director of orchestral studies the University of Connecticut, is known for the “energy and sincere expression” of his performances. At home on the podium and in the opera pit, McShee is sought after as a conductor for opera productions in the U.S. and Europe. He was a staff conductor for the University of Minnesota Opera, guest conductor for La traviata and Madama Butterfly at Paul Hamlyn Hall in London, and music director of the PopUp Opera Program in Edinburgh, Scotland.

McShee has conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, The Missoula Symphony Orchestra, the London Paradisal Players, L’Orchestre QuiPasseParLà, L’Orchestre Band-Son, the Philharmonie Mihail Jora and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic.

A champion of new music, and works of underrepresented composers, McShee is currently preparing a collected edition of the instrumental works of Margaret Bonds. Additionally, he has worked with composers including Kenneth Fuchs, Avner Dorman, Anna Clyne and Nathan Fletcher.

He holds the DMA in conducting from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and a MM from the University of Connecticut. He has served on the faculties of the University of Minnesota, the University of Connecticut, and Binghamton University. His current research concerns the intersections between philosophy and the music of Brahms, Wagner, and Mahler. His dissertation, “Gentle into that Good Night: Rejection of Linear Structural Narratives in Finales by Brahms, Wagner, and Mahler,” was recognized by Peabody Conservatory faculty with a commendation.

McShee studied conducting under Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, Harvey Felder, and Markand Thakar. His principal flute teachers were Emmanuel Pahud, Verena Bosshart, and Teresa Bowers, and Monique Dupuis-Léopoldoff.