Darren Shillingford is an accomplished music educator, and collaborative artist dedicated to expanding access to culturally responsive and community-based music learning. Bridging a rich performance background with scholarship, his spans choral & steelband music education, and the preservation and promotion of Caribbean music traditions. He is the founder of Caribbean Music Educators, an organization committed to researching and celebrating Caribbean music , and he actively elevates emerging musicians through his work as a social media consultant.
An active collaborative pianist, organist, and music director, Shillingford has lent his musical leadership to diverse ensembles and prestigious stages across the United States and the Caribbean. He currently serves as the Music Director at Epiphany Lutheran Church and Organist for St. Andrew Apostle Church in Maryland. His extensive collaborative credits include performances and rehearsals at the Kennedy Center, the Music Center at Strathmore, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center, working alongside institutions such as the Children’s Chorus of Washington (CCW), the DC Honor Chorus, and the Levine School of Music. His formative professional music leadership includes deep-rooted work in Trinidad and Tobago, where he served as a repetiteur for the Marionettes Chorale, assistant director for the Presentation College Mixed Choir, co-founder of Bravura Arts Chorale, and collaborative pianist for numerous choral communities.
As an innovative educator, Shillingford specializes in curriculum design that connects with students’ diverse lived experiences and increasing students’ global awareness. He spent several years as the Music Curriculum Director and Consultant for the Children’s Chorus of Washington, where he designed a comprehensive six-level sight-singing, music theory, and aural skills framework. He also coordinated CCW’s Sing DC Outreach Program, strengthening school partnerships to bring high-quality music instruction to public school classrooms. Whether establishing steelpan and general music curricula at Dunross Preparatory School in Trinidad and Tobago , directing youth musical theatre productions , or teaching early childhood music , Shillingford integrates digital music tools and evidence-based practices to inspire young musicians.
At the university level, Shillingford is deeply engaged in training the next generation of teachers. As part of his ongoing PhD studies he has taught music education courses at the University of Maryland, College Park, designing and delivering undergraduate coursework in classroom music, and has supported pre-professional teachers as a graduate teaching assistant in general music pedagogy. As a researcher with the Music and Arts Education Data Lab (MADLAB), he worked with the team that conducts interdisciplinary data analysis to examine arts education ecosystems. He shares his research on Caribbean music traditions and community music-making at major national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Big Ten Academic Alliance(BTAA).
Shillingford is currently a PhD student in Music Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also earned his Master of Arts. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Florida International University and is certified in Gordon Music Learning Theory. A champion for equity in arts education.
