Sheridan Stormes, mezzo-soprano, modern language diction, music
and fine arts librarian
Sheridan Stormes has been teaching lyric diction courses at the
Jordan College of Fine Arts for over twenty years. During that
time, she has served as a teacher and coach of English, French,
German, Italian, and Latin diction for singers. She has authored
two "textlets" (as she prefers to call them) to aid in her teaching
of diction: Hochdeutsch for Singers and Liaisons Dangereuses and
Other Aggravations of French Diction for Singers. Recently, she has
revised and combined the contents of these texts and added a
chapter on English diction to create Diction: The Power of
Pronunciation! which serves as a text for her Graduate Lyric
Diction Review course. In addition, Sheri has taught an
undergraduate research class, Music Research Techniques, and has
team-taught JCFA's graduate level Research in Music class. Having
earned an M.S. in Library Science from Indiana University, Sheri
also serves as the Music and Fine Arts Librarian for Butler
University Libraries.
A mezzo-soprano, Sheri began her vocal studies at the Cleveland
Institute of Music, and holds an M.M. in vocal performance from
Butler University. Her voice teachers have included Dorothy Kocher,
James Q. Mulholland, André Aerne, and Sharon Beckendorf Searles.
Additionally, she has performed in master classes for Carol
Neblett, Philip Gossett, Thomas Grubb, and Nico Castel.
Sheri's performing experience includes appearances on Butler's
Faculty Artist Series, Pi Kappa Lambda Benefit Recitals, the
Romantic Festival Series, the Spirit in Place Festival, and with
the Indiana Opera Theatre, and as soloist with the Carmel Symphony
and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. She maintains an active singing
schedule, performing such works as Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden
Gesellen and Symphony No. 4, Elgar's Sea Pictures, Paul McCartney's
Liverpool Oratorio, Handel's Dettingen Te Deum and Messiah, Verdi's
Messa da Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Vivaldi's Gloria. Sheri
is currently the alto soloist at First Baptist Church of
Indianapolis and alto quartet member at Indianapolis Hebrew
Congregation. She also is a member of the vocal quartet
"Vocal-Ease" (a group made up of four Butler alumni!) and performs
regularly as a member of the Indiana State Museum Players, a group
which presents musical and dramatic revues both on the ISM stage
and at various venues in Indiana as part of the museum's
Outreach/Distance Learning Program. In this capacity, Sheri sings
everything from "bad" Indiana songs to Gilbert and Sullivan to
Broadway show tunes to shows devoted to the music of some of
Indiana's best native song composers: Hoagy Carmichael and Cole
Porter!
Sheri is a member of the National Association of Teachers of
Singing, and is a member and past national associate regent of the
national music honorary society Pi Kappa Lambda. She is an alumna
of Sigma Alpha Iota and active and performing member of
Indianapolis Matinée Musicale. Sheri served as president of
Butler's Delta Zeta Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda for nine years and
also has served as vice president of the University's chapter of
the general honorary society Phi Kappa Phi. Sheri also frequently
serves as an adjudicator for various statewide vocal
competitions.
As part of her role as Music and Fine Arts Librarian, Sheri is
very involved with the Midwest Chapter and the national
organization of the Music Library Association. Sheri has
co-authored a chapter in Careers in Music Librarianship II, a book
sponsored by the MLA and published by Scarecrow Press. Most
recently, Sheri was a contributor to A Basic Music Library:
Essential Scores and Sound Recordings, Fourth Edition, selecting
the scores for the section on "Solo Song." The book is due to
be published in Spring, 2010.
(317) 940-9218
sstormes@butler.edu