Music

Pursue Your Passion for Music at Shenandoah Conservatory

Perform at the Highest Level

Shenandoah Conservatory helps you perform at the highest level on the stage, in the classroom, at the clinic, behind the scenes and more.

Ensembles

Shenandoah Conservatory is home to more than twenty instrumental, choral and dance ensembles presenting numerous performances each year. Most ensembles are open (by audition) to all Shenandoah University students, regardless of degree.

Music at Shenandoah

Classes and private lessons with expert performers, educators and clinicians

  • Programs span the music industry
  • Unique programs in jazz/commercial music and contemporary music/entrepreneurship
  • Virginia’s oldest music therapy program 
  • Highly regarded music education program
  • Students accepted by respected programs as the Chautauqua Institute, Kneisel Hall, Aspen Music Festival, The Pierre Monteux School, Adamant and the Idyllwild Summer Program
  • Alumni perform in symphony orchestra and opera companies worldwide and serve as educators, therapists, and respected creatives in their communities

Music News

Symphony Orchestra, Conservatory Choir, Joel Puckett

Shenandoah University Commissions and Performs New Work by Puckett ’99 for Sesquicentennial Celebration

Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory Choir to Premiere Work in Special Concert

Shenandoah University’s sesquicentennial celebration continues with the presentation of “150 Years Young,” a concert honoring the university’s legacy and future, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday,…

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Shenandoah Conservatory Hosts VA Chapter of NATS Fall Conference

Shenandoah Conservatory Hosts and Shines at VA Chapter of NATS Fall Conference

Shenandoah Conservatory hosted the fall conference for the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing on Friday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct.…

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Shenandoah Alumnus Named Assistant Superintendent in Fauquier County, Virginia

Matthew Yonkey ’03 has been named the assistant superintendent of administration for Fauquier County Public Schools in Virginia. He began his career in Fauquier County…

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Music Faculty

Shenandoah Conservatory faculty are active, supportive and masters of their craft.

Music Alumni News

Alyson (Shirk) Moore

Moore ’10 Featured in Article Celebrating Work with St. Louis Children’s Choir

Alyson (Shirk) Moore ’10 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance – Voice) and her work as artistic director of the St. Louis Children’s Choir was…

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Nathaniel Gumbs

Gumbs ’09 Featured in Nike Ad with Ken Griffey Jr.

Nathaniel Gumbs ’09 (Bachelor of Music in Performance) recently collaborated with Nike on a new national television commercial featuring baseball icon Ken Griffey Jr. Although…

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Sarah McCown

McCown ’24 Returns for Second National Tour of ‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical’

Sarah McCown ’24 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance – Woodwind Doubling) is returning for a second national tour with Crossroads Live for its production…

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ShenCoLAB

Shenandoah Conservatory turns over the programming and facilities to its students for a week of unbridled exploration, collaboration and creativity.

ShenCoLAB is the only such week of its magnitude and scope offered by a university performing arts program in the United States.

The week culminates in an extraordinary event: the Festival of Arts, Ideas & Exploration which features a wide variety of exciting, innovative and provocative performances, presentations, roundtable discussions and other special events.

Take a Virtual Tour of Shenandoah Conservatory

Shenandoah Conservatory is an exciting hub of collaboration and innovation. Here’s a chance to take a quick look at all the spaces in which our students engage in rich and rewarding creative experiences in music, theatre and dance.

Piano student

We’re an All-Steinway School

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.