Shenandoah Conservatory

Winchester, Virginia
5 Performances – October 2-5, 1997

Shenandoah Conservatory, the oldest of Shenandoah University’s five schools, was founded in 1875, in Dayton, Virginia, as Shenandoah Seminary by Dr. Abraham Paul Funkhouser and Professor Jay Newton Fries. The name of the institution and the valley where it is situated derives from the Indian legend of Zynodoa, an Indian brave whose life of strength and courage and his appreciation of beauty resulted in having a river and a valley named for him.

In the mid-1970s, the college became a four-year institution, and the newly rejoined Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music added studies in theatre and dance to the curriculum. By 1980, Shingleton Studio Theatre and Goodson Chapel/Recital Hall were built to accommodate the growing number of performances. In the past 25 years, the Conservatory has produced nearly 300 theatrical productions, some 75 dance performances, and more than 2,000 concerts and recitals. Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre opened its premiere season in 1984 with Shenandoah, and has produced four musicals every summer since that time.

www.su.edu/conservatory