Sharan Leventhal joined the Conservatory in 2005 and is a professor of violin. She teaches applied violin, chamber music, and contemporary performance practice.
Since winning the 1984 Kranichsteiner Musikpreis in Darmstadt, Germany, she has built an international reputation as a champion of new music. Among her more than 130 premieres are works by Gunther Schuller, Ben Johnston, Virgil Thomson, Pauline Oliveros, Taina León, Simon Bainbridge, Scott Wheeler, Matt Aucoin, and Fred Hersch. Leventhal has been equally active in traditional venues. Her solo appearances include performances with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra; the Toledo, Milwaukee, Gulf Coast, Topeka, Dayton, and Albany symphonies; and the Wisconsin and Cleveland chamber orchestras.
Leventhal has received more than 30 grants, including awards from Chamber Music America (2011), the Fromm Foundation (2011), the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording (2011, 2006, 2003, 1999, 1992), the Koussevitzky Music Foundation (1992), and the National Endowment for the Arts (1993, 1988, 1987).
She has served on the faculties of Brandeis University, Michigan State University, Berklee College of Music, and the Bruckner-Konservatorium in Linz, Austria. Summer teaching includes the Wintergreen Music Festival, Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy, Interlochen Arts Camp, and the Asian Youth Orchestra. She performs and teaches throughout the United States and Europe.