Shawn L. Copeland

Dr. Shawn L. Copeland is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet and Alexander Technique at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho. Passionate about holistic teaching and the inclusion of the body in the creative process, he is an accredited teacher of Alexander Technique and a specialist in Body Mapping. His training in Alexander Technique included Body Mapping at the core of the curriculum. He earned his certification in 2006, after studying with Dr. Marsha Paludan, Robin Gilmore, and Glenna Batson. He continues to apprentice with William Conable, the originator of Body Mapping, incorporating new discoveries from both of their teaching practices. Shawn travels extensively giving presentations, master classes, and workshops at universities and conferences including the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, Idaho Music Educators National Conference, and clarinet festivals at the University of Southern Alabama at Birmingham, University of Southern Mississippi, University of South Texas at Brownsville, and the University of Texas Clarinet Colloquium. He spends his summers teaching at the Stetson University Summer Clarinet Clinic, the Eastern Music Festival (where he is the resident teacher of Alexander Technique and Body Mapping), and Freedom and Ease of Movement, an Alexander Technique residential workshop in Spokane, Washington. He is the author of the upcoming publication "What Every Clarinetist Needs to Know About the Body." An advocate for new music and an avid chamber musician, he is a founding member of TOSCA Duo, Relevents Wind Quintet, and Hammers & Reeds Trio. He is the principal clarinetist of the Washington/Idaho Symphony and has served as the auxiliary and principal clarinetist with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Fibonacci Chamber Orchestra, the Novus Chamber Ensemble, and Southern Winds. Dr. Copeland is a performing artist and clinician for Buffet Crampon USA and Gonzalez Reeds.