Hillary Herndon to Lead Sewanee Summer Music Festival
The Sewanee Summer Music Festival (SSMF) is proud to announce its new artistic and executive director, Dr. Hillary Herndon.
Herndon succeeds Dr. John Kilkenny, who served as director from 2018 to 2024. Under Kilkenny, the SSMF enjoyed tremendous growth, with increased enrollment and community support, the addition of OperaFest, and an exciting and dynamic expansion of its repertoire. “John fostered a community of committed and extremely talented faculty and conductors who supported the Festival’s commitment to educating and developing musicians,” said Provost Scott Wilson.
Herndon brings experience and enthusiasm to the position. A nationally renowned violist with degrees from both Juilliard and the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, she has been a professor of viola at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) for more than fifteen years and has taught at Eastman and at multiple national festivals. Notably, Herndon has an extensive history with the SSMF. “The SSMF has been my summer home for 12 summers as a faculty member, and that time has proven to me how special this festival and community are,” said Herndon. “For one month of the year, our amazing faculty gather here from around the country to work with the next generation of musicians, culminating each week in inspirational performances.”
In addition to her teaching experience, Herndon is an outstanding violist with a national reputation for her brilliant playing marked by a “sweetly soaring tone” (Time Out New York). She has been heard on NPR and PBS and has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost artists, including Carol Wincenc, James VanDermark, and Itzhak Perlman, who described Herndon as “having it all ... a gifted teacher and an excellent musician.” Her reputation as teacher and performer has led to invitations to offer master classes at Carnegie Hall, the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Juilliard, Eastman, and the International Viola Congress.
Herndon most recently served as the president of the American Viola Society and has been co-director of both the Knoxville Chamber Music Society and Mosaic Music Publications. Interim Dean of the College Betsy Sandlin noted that “Hillary has a proven record of not just leading organizations but helping them thrive. She has a genuine commitment to and sense of responsibility for the success of the SSMF.”
Herndon looks forward to beginning her duties this fall and preparing for SSMF 2025, saying, “It is an honor and pleasure to step into the role of director of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. John Kilkenny left big shoes to fill and I look forward to continuing to make SSMF a premier music festival.”
