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.

Horn students

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

Julia Wolfe

Pulitzer Prize-winning Composer Julia Wolfe Headlines Ear Candy New Music Festival

Shenandoah Conservatory presents the Ear Candy New Music Festival on Friday, Feb. 20, and Saturday, Feb. 21, a two-day celebration of the bold, boundary-pushing voices…

Continue reading Pulitzer Prize-winning Composer Julia Wolfe…
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

Shenandoah Conservatory Awarded Erasmus+ Grant to Support Study Abroad Exchange Opportunities in Spain for Music Students and Faculty

Shenandoah University’s Center for Global Education is thrilled to announce that Shenandoah Conservatory has been awarded an Erasmus+ grant in partnership for the 2026/27 academic…

Continue reading Shenandoah Conservatory Awarded Erasmus+ Grant…
The 2025 Shenandoah University Marching Band celebrates in the stands.

Class of 2026 Reflects on the Growth and Evolution of the Marching Band

Seniors become the first students to spend all four years in the band

By Natalie Gales ’25 In the 2022 Fall Term, the Shenandoah University Marching Band made its debut performance on Glo Fiber Field at Shentel Stadium.…

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Music Faculty

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

Music Alumni News

Kevin Rose

Rose ’24 Performs at Blues Alley Club in Washington, D.C.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Voice Kevin Rose ’24 (Master of Music in Pedagogy/Contemporary Commercial Music – CCM Voice) will perform at the historic Blues Alley…

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Elisabeth “Beth” Stimpert

Stimpert ’13 with Alarm Will Sound Wins Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Elisabeth “Beth” Stimpert ’13 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance) was awarded a Grammy Award with her ensemble Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson…

Continue reading Stimpert ’13 with Alarm Will…
Ian Sabatine and Lily Farrar

Farrar ’21, ’23 and Sabatine ’24 Continue Professional Careers with Odyssey Dance Theatre

Shenandoah Conservatory alumni Lily Farrar ’21, ’23 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership & Management) and Ian Sabatine…

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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.