Sheila Sheppard

Sheila has regularly performed as a featured violin soloist at various venues, churches, weddings, and charity and private events, and has taught lessons both privately and through Arts Enter Cape Charles, for the past 12 years. She began her music training at age 8, joining the studio of Dora Marshall Mullins of Virginia Beach, former concert master of the Virginia Symphony, Julliard instructor, and renowned maestra, at age 11. A year later she joined the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra as its youngest member, and continued to perform with them for 5 years. She was awarded in the Richard Bland Music Competition.

At the College of William and Mary, Sheila earned a B.A. with a concentration in music, training with Mullin’s former student, Susan Via, acclaimed member of the Williamsburg Symphonia.  A recipient of the Gladys Iseman Clark Lesson Scholarship, Sheila played first violin with the William and Mary Orchestra and the Gallery Players Chamber Group.  She was a member of the Appalachian Music Ensemble and experimented with genres such as Middle Eastern, Irish, and early music.

In 2009, she began playing with Stump Hole Water, a vintage Americana-inspired band, as well as Short Rope and the Eclectic Acoustic Review, and has performed at venues and festivals across Virginia.