Mission Statement

Mountain View Music’s primary purpose is to teach the performing arts to promote the True, the Good, and the Beautiful in society. We serve as a community event and gathering space for the arts and provide outreach programs and services to those who would not otherwise have access to arts education in the Front Royal, Virginia area. This takes many forms, including individual instrumental and vocal lessons as well as group classes.

We have also hosted concerts and other community-building events. Future goals include a band program, chamber and concert orchestra, master classes, workshops, and competitions, community partnerships, and outreach to the greater Front Royal service area, especially to under-privileged youth, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to receive music education.

In addition, we provide a beautiful event/recital space available for rent to outside groups and organizations for such events as student recitals, corporate gatherings, non-profit fundraisers, movie screenings, and themed “jam nights.” Mountain View Music will also work to encourage people to enter the performing arts professions through our teacher training program for qualified individuals.

Eli Thomas

Eli’s musical journey began at the age of six in his hometown of San Diego, California. His ever-growing passion for music took him to the East Coast where he completed both his bachelors and masters degrees in violin performance at Shenandoah Conservatory, studying under renowned violinist Akemi Takayama. His studies have taken him across the country and internationally to countries such as Spain and Argentina. In Jamaica, he studied pedagogy with master teacher Steven Woodham, a pupil of Zakhar Bron, Europe’s leading violin teacher. While in school he served as concertmaster of the conservatory’s orchestra, and participated in numerous chamber music ensembles. He was invited to attend the Castleton Festival, an intensive opera and orchestra program directed by Lorin Maazel, the former conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He performs frequently in local orchestras including the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra and the National String Symphonia, where he has served as Assistant Concertmaster. As a soloist, he has performed numerous recitals in the Mid-Atlantic region. He was a featured soloist with the Charles Washington Symphony Orchestra, performing the virtuosic showpiece Zigeunerweisen. In 2014, he was a prizewinner in the Virginia Music Teachers Association concerto competition, and winner of the Bach-Handel competition at Shenandoah Conservatory.

Although his training is primarily classical, Eli has played in numerous genres ranging from Bluegrass and Celtic to jazz and classic rock. In college, he was a member of the Bluefire Jazz String Quartet, which performed both jazz classics and original material. The quartet had the honor to work with Wynton Marsalis, one of the greatest jazz musicians living today. He was also involved in the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra’s world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Blues Symphony. Eli’s love for folk music comes from his family heritage. His great- grandfather was a fiddler from the island of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and some of his earliest memories are of listening to his father’s recordings of Cape Breton Celtic music. He was honored to join Celtic Woman and the Irish Tenors as a member of the orchestra for their concerts in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. In the classic rock genre, Eli has performed with a popular local band, including a sold out show dedicated to the music of the Beatles.

As a teacher, Eli has worked with students of all ages, from preschoolers to adults. He is the co-founder and director of the Charles Washington Youth Orchestra and the Lighthouse Baptist Church Children’s Choir. His passion lies in the opportunity to affect a student’s life in a positive way. He loves proving that they are capable of far more than they might imagine, teaching them how to learn, and enabling them to see farther down the road of learning. Through music, he shows them to always be curious, helping every student unleash their own creative spark and open the door to discovery. He believes that a teacher has an important responsibility that requires constant dedication, hard work, and self-evaluation to ensure every student gets the very best they deserve.

Eli has clocked up countless hours as a professional violinist, playing everything from a sold out all Beatles show to appearing on stage with Celtic Women, the Irish Tenors and Wynton Marsalis.

Under the banner of Nova Strings, Eli collaborates with the area’s premier musicians to perform as a String Quartet, String Trio or String Duo or Solo Violin. All musicians Eli works with are full-time professional classical musicians, mostly all with a master’s degree or higher.

Taking great pride in his work, Eli loves every detail of preparing for a wedding or special event, from hand curating song selections to create the perfect ambiance, to promptly responding to communications and handling all logistical details. Every event is guaranteed by a written contract to ensure your peace of mind. Eli Thomas may also be reached through his personal website.

Sheila Dumont

Sheila DuMont is a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania now living in Winchester, Virginia while studying for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Shenandoah Conservatory with internationally known flutist, Jonathan Snowden.

An active performer, she currently serves as principal flutist of the Northern Appalachian Wind Symphony (PA), performs with the award-winning Penn Central Wind Band (PA), and is a founding member of the Great Lakes Wind Symphony (NY). Sheila may be heard as principal flutist on recordings with the Grammy-nominated Mansfield University Wind Ensemble. She has served as principal of the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, co-principal of the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra, Penn State Chamber Orchestra, and Penn State Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

In February of 2020, Sheila made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Penn State Symphonic Wind Ensemble as featured piccolo soloist in Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy. More recently, she performed as featured flute soloist in Shenandoah Conservatory’s April 2021 performance of Samuel Barber’s Capricorn Concerto.

As a teacher, Sheila brings with her 20 years of experience in creating a well-rounded musical education and a holistic, pro-student environment. She is a proponent of community and lifelong music; in her hometown, she founded, organized, and served as musical director (2013-2016) of the Williamsport Flute Choir, a performance ensemble that is still active today. Her students have ranged in age from elementary to adult, and have gone on to win district, state, and regional competitions, successfully audition to university music programs, and most importantly, achieve their own personal musicianship goals.

Sheila holds a bachelor’s degree in flute performance from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, as well as master’s degrees in both flute performance and musicology from Penn State University. Musicological interests include historical performance practice and introducing compositions by women and other underrepresented composers into the Western Music canon. She is currently a doctoral student in flute performance at Shenandoah Conservatory, studying with Jonathan Snowden, former principal flutist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.

When not playing music, Sheila enjoys spending time with her husband Frank, playing with her chihuahua mix, Marzipan and newly adopted Siamese kitten, Jesk, travelling, thrifting, and beating her own time on The New York Times crossword puzzles.

Sheila is available to teach flute, oboe, saxophone, piccolo, and English horn at Mountain View Music