Nina Elizabeth Shuman

Nina Elizabeth Shuman - Sonoma County music and opera makers and lovers mourn the loss of Nina Elizabeth Shuman, who died peacefully after a two and a half year battle with cancer in the evening of Sunday, December 12. Born April 27, 1954 in New York City, Nina was surrounded by music and art from the time she was born. Childhood summers were spent in Santa Barbara, California, where her father, Davis Shuman, a distinguished trombonist and a member of the faculty of The Juilliard School, was on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West. Her mother, Shirley, an artist, graduated from the High School of Music and Art and Brooklyn College. Her brother, Mark, a well-known cellist, is presently a member of the New York City Opera Orchestra. She is survived by her mother Shirley, her brother Mark and his wife, Elisabeth, and her nephews Nicolai and Alexander, as well as the members of her two choruses and her friends and colleagues in the opera and music world. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 4pm at the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. Nina attended the Ethical Culture School in Brooklyn and graduated from Hunter College High School in New York City. She also received scholarships to the Kneisel Hall Music School in Blue Hill Maine. She received her bachelorâ??s degree from Bennington College in Vermont and her Masterâ??s degree from Dominican College in San Rafael. She served as Assistant Conductor for Marin Civic Light Opera and was awarded scholarships and a grant from the Marin Educational Foundation to study orchestral conducting with Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Music Festival. In 1986, after attending an opera and feeling an immediate affinity with the production and its people, Nina accepted the post of Music Director and Conductor for Cinnabar Theater, a post she held until her passing. She led the company in over 35 opera productions, including old masters and rare works, as well as west coast and world premieres. Her final operatic project was the west coast premiere of Tobias Picker's Emmeline in June of 2010, which the New York composer deemed an absolute triumph.