Home » Conservatory Areas of Study » Conducting » Master of Music in Conducting

Master of Music in Conducting

Conducting is a highly competitive career field that promises both reward and satisfaction to those exceptional students with ample amounts of both talent and perseverance.

Shenandoah Conservatory’s conducting program is designed to develop conducting, analysis and interpretive skills and offers degrees in choral, musical theatre, orchestral, and wind/band conducting.

  • Band/Wind Ensemble
  • Choral
  • Musical Theatre
  • Orchestra 

Shenandoah is the main power of my success. Shenandoah provided me with excellent faculty members and inspirations.”

Career & Professional Development provides a comprehensive range of services and resources to assist Shenandoah students in their career search. Services offered include resume and cover letter building, mock interviews, and professional dining etiquette workshops.

Shenandoah’s Master of Music in Conducting targets, develops, and hones your podium skills in Band and Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Choral and Musical Theatre conducting.  

You Will Learn:

  • Advanced musicianship in either solo performance or conducting settings
  • How to perform or conduct an extensive, high-level repertoire
  • To perform or conduct in a wide-ranging variety of settings
  • A deep knowledge and appreciation of music theory and music history

What Makes Our Program Unique?

Shenandoah Conservatory produces more than 400 performances each year. Enroll in a dynamic curriculum and start preparing for a meaningful career in the arts. You will practice your craft in front of audiences and develop a plan for your professional launch into the industry that focuses on your personal desires and aspirations.

Embrace extensive performance opportunities with top-tier facilities from theatres, concert halls and dance studios. Unite with fellow artists and join an alumni family that takes center stage from Broadway to the concert halls of Europe.

Ensembles

Shenandoah Conservatory is home to more than 20 instrumental, vocal, and dance ensembles that present numerous performances every year. These performances take place throughout Shenandoah University’s vibrant campus on its various stages, including a concert hall, recital hall, proscenium stage, black box studio, outdoor amphitheater and more, to venues and performance spaces in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and around the world. Ensembles constantly engage with Shenandoah’s dynamic faculty and an array of distinguished guest artists through residencies, workshops and unique performance opportunities.

Admission to Shenandoah Conservatory graduate programs is highly competitive and the audition schedule fills rapidly. Early application and audition registration is recommended.

Meet the Faculty

Shenandoah Conservatory’s prestigious faculty is dynamic, creative, and passionately committed to the highest levels of artistic excellence. A deeply caring community, they mentor students with a wealth of professional expertise, balancing rigorous expectations with compassion and wisdom. At Shenandoah, you will study with, and perform for, award-winning composers, Metropolitan Opera singers, Grammy Award winning conductors and international competition winners. You will learn from leading scholars in music and premiere works created by accomplished dance artists and cutting-edge directors. Shenandoah Conservatory’s faculty embodies the highest levels of professional accomplishment and the deepest commitment to furthering the artistic growth and creative aspirations of students in every discipline.

Patrick Brady

Emanuele Andrizzi

Orchestral Conducting

Patrick Brady

Patrick Brady

Musical Theatre Conducting

Timothy J. Robblee

Timothy J. Robblee

Instrumental Conducting

Akemi Takayama

Richard W. Robbins

Choral Conducting

Distinguished Alumni

J. Aaron Hardwick ’21, ’22

James “Aaron” Hardwick currently serves as assistant teaching professor of music and director of the Symphony Orchestra at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has established a reputation as an outstanding conductor, collaborator, and educator — setting himself apart with his engaging, charismatic, and musically precise approach on and off the podium. Highly versatile and musically insightful, his artistic collaborations span multiple genres including standard classical repertoire, musical theater, opera, video game music, popular music and new works.

J. Aaron Hardwick

Paul Sanho Kim ’13

Conductor, composer, and violinist Paul Sanho Kim is an associate professor at Old Dominion University (ODU), where he directs the ODU Symphony Orchestra, teaches conducting and violin, and coordinates the strings area. He is also music director of the Orchestra of the Eastern Shore and the symphony orchestra conductor of the Czech Music Camp for Youth. Kim has led performances with the Virginia Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, and university orchestras across the U.S. and in China, and he was previously the conductor for Eurythmics star Dave Stewart and his Rock Fabulous Orchestra.

Paul Sanho Kim