Celebrating 50 Years of Music Therapy at Shenandoah Conservatory

This year, Shenandoah Conservatory students, faculty and alumni join together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the music therapy program, which launched in September 1974. It is the oldest music therapy program in Virginia and one of the oldest in the country.

When the Bachelor of Music Therapy program started, students and faculty met for classes in Armstrong Hall, moving to Ruebush Hall in 1998, after the opening of the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and Ruebush Hall buildings. At that time, the Mariam Sung Music Therapy Clinic was dedicated in honor of the founding director of the music therapy program, and became a hub for music therapy clinical practice in Winchester under the guidance of Dr. Michael Rohrbacher, Ph.D., MT-BC, and his wife Susanne Rohrbacher, MT-BC, who joined Shenandoah in the early 1990s.

Since then, the program has expanded to include undergraduate and graduate degree programs, with graduates working successfully in a broad range of healthcare, private practice and educational settings. We are excited to share special events with you throughout the year as well as telling the story of music therapy at Shenandoah University!