Les Reagan ’24 (Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership & Management) owns Les Reagan Music, where he teaches voice, piano, audition preparation and piano accompaniment. He recently graduated Shenandoah University and utilizes an array of skills and knowledge from the conservatory’s Performing Arts Leadership & Management (PALM) program to support the work of his nonprofit organization, The Augusta Broadway Singers (TABS), and take it to the next level. Reagan, who is originally from Evans, Georgia, has years of management experience in the hospitality industry and wanted to participate in a graduate program that would assist him with moving TABS forward. Having recently graduated from Shenandoah, Reagan offered the following reflections from his experience in the program.
Why did you choose to attend Shenandoah University?
In the summer of 2021, I took the musical theatre intensive course taught by Harold Herman Chair in Musical Theatre, Associate Professor of Theatre and Music Director Patrick Brady. It was fascinating. As a singer, collaborative pianist, musical director and teacher, it opened a world of musicals I hadn’t been exposed to. The course was a conversation with what seemed like friends for a few hours each week. It was a weekly get-together. I had such a great time with the class that I started looking at the possibilities of a master’s degree. It had been 43 years since I was in college. I found the Performing Arts Leadership & Management program, and I enrolled in the fall of 2021. I began slowly since it had been so long since I was in school. I knew from the beginning that this program of study would benefit my nonprofit organization, The Augusta Broadway Singers. If you are considering returning to school later in life…DO IT…it was one of the best decisions I ever made. You are never too old to learn, grow, and share. Thank you, Shenandoah University, for showing up one day on my Facebook feed.
What was the most memorable part of your program?
Completing a thesis that relates strongly to my work was a high for me. “Exploring and Combatting Founder’s Syndrome in an Arts Non-Profit Organization” is an extremely important project, and I’m very proud of this work. Founder’s syndrome can destroy an organization. I chose this area to research in order to prevent becoming the founder who couldn’t let go when it was time to step aside.
What would you tell a prospective student about your Shenandoah experience, and how it best prepared you for the career and life path that you are currently traveling?
No school is right for everyone, BUT, you owe it to yourself to look at it. It may be right for you! It was for me. Shenandoah University was the right choice, especially since I’m in the arts. The arts at SU are wonderful. So many opportunities are available to the students and alumni. The connections that can be made are countless. I wish I had known about SU in the 1970s when I was getting my undergraduate degree. Don’t pass over it… look at it. It may and probably will be right for YOU!
