Shenandoah™ University

Shenandoah University’s world-renowned Shenandoah Conservatory offers intense, specialized, professional training in music, theatre and dance. Students work with a faculty of active professionals as they develop artistically and intellectually for careers in the performing arts. Fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), Shenandoah Conservatory offers more than 60 degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s, artist diploma and doctoral levels and produces nearly 400 performances each year. More than 700 students are currently enrolled.

Shenandoah Conservatory unites aspiring artists and scholars with distinguished and caring faculty in a community that prepares individuals for meaningful, satisfying careers in the arts.

Shenandoah’s music programs provide you with professional-level training for your career in the performing arts. Hone your performance skills in classes and lessons taught by distinguished artist faculty. Conservatory students enrolled in instrumental and vocal studies routinely gain acceptance into prestigious graduate schools throughout the country and abroad. They attend such respected programs as the Chautauqua Institute, Kneisel Hall, Aspen Music Festival, The Pierre Monteux School, Adamont and the Idyllwild Summer Program. Many of our graduates hold positions with national and international symphony orchestras and opera companies.

Shenandoah’s renowned composition faculty members specialize in new music, and their work is performed worldwide. Students’ original works are also performed in ensemble and solo settings.

Shenandoah’s rigorous theatre programs equip you for highly successful professional careers in the theatre business. Your talents are nurtured and challenged by our professional faculty and staff, whether your major is in performance or design and technical areas. Graduates from Shenandoah’s theatre programs work on Broadway, in regional theatres, on national and international tours, on cruise ships, as well as in film, television and commercials.

At Shenandoah, we engage you from the first day you arrive on campus. A robust season of musicals, plays, and youth theatre productions on two stages keeps you active and involved and helps you hone your skills in a practical setting. Hands-on attention from faculty and a belief in cultivating the individual artist–as opposed to the “cookie cutter” approach–prepares you to compete in the industry with the confidence that comes with knowing how to market your unique “brand.”

Shenandoah’s dance programs provide the academic and professional preparation demanded by a wide variety of careers. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees are designed for you — the highly-motivated, pre-professional dancer who is seeking a career as a concert performer, choreographer or dance educator. The Bachelor of Arts program is designed for dancers who are interested in a broad general education while continuing their dance studies. All degree programs present the opportunity to develop creative and production skills while enriching philosophical and theoretical perspectives in close, mentoring relationships with the dance faculty.

You will be immersed in the art from the moment you arrive on campus. The intimate conservatory approach at Shenandoah provides a focused environment for study, while the supportive atmosphere encourages your individual growth and creativity.

Shenandoah’s Conservatory students enjoy numerous opportunities to experience the world, perform in international venues and make a difference by participating in global community service. Through Shenandoah’s Global Citizenship Project (GCP), approximately 50 students, faculty and staff travel each spring break to international destinations, travel costs included, to help broaden their horizons. Conservatory faculty have led GCP trips to Germany, Singapore, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, China and Taiwan.

Shenandoah Conservatory is actively involved in building cultural and artistic partnerships around the globe. Recently, conservatory students and faculty collaborated with the Mayan Arts Program (MAP) in Guatemala, teaching arts and music to elementary and middle school-aged Guatemalan children.

Though a rich variety of study and performance abroad opportunities, you will gain a global perspective and valuable international performance experience. Study and performance abroad trips have included Spain, France, Ghana, Canada, Argentina, Lithuania, Denmark and India.

Great music stirs the heart and inspires the soul, and Steinway pianos are celebrated as the instruments used by renowned artists to cultivate their talent and produce great music. Similarly, uncompromising excellence in performing arts education sparks the imagination and inspires the future. Shenandoah Conservatory prepares aspiring artists to cultivate their passions, pursue artistic greatness and achieve their fullest potential in a supportive community that prepares them for meaningful, satisfying careers in the arts.

Shenandoah Conservatory’s faculty members are active and distinguished performing artists, acclaimed as much for their love of teaching as for their renowned professional accomplishments. Providing rigorous artistic training within a nurturing and supportive community, they work closely with students in the classroom, in the studio and on stage to hone each student’s individual talent and artistic passion. As mentors and fellow artists, the conservatory faculty challenge and inspire each student to achieve personal performance excellence.