Shirl Jae Atwell
Shirl Jae Atwell earned her Bachelors’ degree from Kansas State Teachers College and a Master of
Music Theory/Composition degree at the University of Louisville. She also completed four years of
post-graduate work in composition at the University of South Carolina.
In 1984, Ms. Atwell won the Clifford Shaw Memorial Award for Kentucky Composers; was
commissioned to write Fear Not, Little Flock for the 175th anniversary of the Little Flock Baptist
Church; and saw the New York City debut of her first opera, Sagegrass. In 1991, another of her
operas, Esta Hargis, was premièred at Emporia State University in Kansas, followed shortly by the
1992 debut of Handelian, a work for string orchestra premièred by the Jefferson County All-County
Middle School Orchestra. The Southern Baptist Seminary Orchestra in Louisville premièred her
Movements Four South, an orchestral suite, in 1993. That year also saw the placement of six Shirl Jae Atwell scores in the permanent collection of the Paris Bibliothèque Internationale de Musique
Contemporaine at the invitation of the Contemporary Music International Information Service.
Ms. Atwell was named the 1996 winner of the National School Orchestra Association composition
contest with her string orchestra piece Modus á Four. She is also the 1997 winner of the Texas
Orchestra Directors Association contest with a string orchestra piece entitled Drifen.
Lucy, the ballet, with music by Ms. Atwell and choreography by Alun Jones, was premièred by the
Louisville Ballet in January 1999. Lucy was inspired by the discovery of a 3.2 million year old
skeleton, and was the subject of a Kentucky Education Television documentary that was aired on
November 10, 1999. In June 2000, the televised production of Lucy was awarded the Arts & Culture
Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; in July, a
Certificate of Merit was awarded to Lucy by Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for
Communicators; and in January 2001, Lucy was awarded 2nd place by the National Education
Television Association for program performance. In 2002, The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra of
North Carolina recorded the music to the ballet Lucy, which is now available on Albany Records and
iTunes. The compact disc also includes the orchestral suite Movements Four South, and three string
orchestra works, Pulsar, Meander, and Drifen.
Ms. Atwell has been commissioned to write works for the McEachern High School String Orchestra of Powder Springs, Georgia; the Oceanfront String Orchestra of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and a full
orchestra piece for the 2007 Kentucky All-State Orchestra. In the fall 2008, Ms. Atwell was
commissioned to write a full orchestra work, in honor of Lincoln’s Bicentennial, which was premiered
by the Louisville Orchestra in February 2009. She has also completed work on her second ballet suite entitled Evoquer.
An active composer with many commissions and publications to her credit, Ms. Atwell retired from
full-time string teaching with the Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, Kentucky in 2007. She
is now spending her time composing, conducting, arranging, presenting and working with string
teachers in the Louisville area and throughout the southeast. Ms. Atwell is an active member of
ASCAP.
Music Theory/Composition degree at the University of Louisville. She also completed four years of
post-graduate work in composition at the University of South Carolina.
In 1984, Ms. Atwell won the Clifford Shaw Memorial Award for Kentucky Composers; was
commissioned to write Fear Not, Little Flock for the 175th anniversary of the Little Flock Baptist
Church; and saw the New York City debut of her first opera, Sagegrass. In 1991, another of her
operas, Esta Hargis, was premièred at Emporia State University in Kansas, followed shortly by the
1992 debut of Handelian, a work for string orchestra premièred by the Jefferson County All-County
Middle School Orchestra. The Southern Baptist Seminary Orchestra in Louisville premièred her
Movements Four South, an orchestral suite, in 1993. That year also saw the placement of six Shirl Jae Atwell scores in the permanent collection of the Paris Bibliothèque Internationale de Musique
Contemporaine at the invitation of the Contemporary Music International Information Service.
Ms. Atwell was named the 1996 winner of the National School Orchestra Association composition
contest with her string orchestra piece Modus á Four. She is also the 1997 winner of the Texas
Orchestra Directors Association contest with a string orchestra piece entitled Drifen.
Lucy, the ballet, with music by Ms. Atwell and choreography by Alun Jones, was premièred by the
Louisville Ballet in January 1999. Lucy was inspired by the discovery of a 3.2 million year old
skeleton, and was the subject of a Kentucky Education Television documentary that was aired on
November 10, 1999. In June 2000, the televised production of Lucy was awarded the Arts & Culture
Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; in July, a
Certificate of Merit was awarded to Lucy by Unda-USA, the National Catholic Association for
Communicators; and in January 2001, Lucy was awarded 2nd place by the National Education
Television Association for program performance. In 2002, The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra of
North Carolina recorded the music to the ballet Lucy, which is now available on Albany Records and
iTunes. The compact disc also includes the orchestral suite Movements Four South, and three string
orchestra works, Pulsar, Meander, and Drifen.
Ms. Atwell has been commissioned to write works for the McEachern High School String Orchestra of Powder Springs, Georgia; the Oceanfront String Orchestra of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and a full
orchestra piece for the 2007 Kentucky All-State Orchestra. In the fall 2008, Ms. Atwell was
commissioned to write a full orchestra work, in honor of Lincoln’s Bicentennial, which was premiered
by the Louisville Orchestra in February 2009. She has also completed work on her second ballet suite entitled Evoquer.
An active composer with many commissions and publications to her credit, Ms. Atwell retired from
full-time string teaching with the Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville, Kentucky in 2007. She
is now spending her time composing, conducting, arranging, presenting and working with string
teachers in the Louisville area and throughout the southeast. Ms. Atwell is an active member of
ASCAP.