<p>hello! I'm new here. can anyone tell me about Shenandoah Conservatory, with respect to vocal performance? i'm interested in taking their BM degree (classical voice) but do not know any of the teachers. maybe someone can recommend good teachers? am also looking into the North Carolina School of the Arts. how do the two compare? (and recommendations on teachers too please).</p>
<p>to be honest, im particularly interested in the conservatory setting. or at least, getting all my gen ed subjects credited as i have completed a non-music degree. (although i am interested in pursuing language courses.) hope you guys can help.</p>
<p>From what I understand, (and I have no background or experience to compare vocal programs as my son is a string player) Shenandoah has a well respected program in opera, voice and musical theater. </p>
<p>My son was a fellow at this year's Shenandoah Performs music festival, and he felt the Shenny musicians who also played were very capable instrumentalists and he enjoyed working with the orchestra director Jan Wagner. He liked the campus and the Winchester area in general. He said the facilities were "good" but didn't elaborate.</p>
<p>No anecdotal info on NCSA.</p>
<p>You may want to check the Music Theater forum as well if you get minimal response on this forum. There are anumber of posters there with knowledge of Shenandoah's vocal aspects.</p>
<p>As I said, my experience and knowledge is limited to strings and chamber music, so I'm relaying info I've read or picked up in conversation. Having said that, they do stage 2 full opera performances a year at Shenny, and they are well recieved in the area. They also have a highly thought of MT program.</p>
<p>There are others here or at the MT forum far more qualified to discuss the strengths of their vocal programs in relation to other options.</p>
<p>Shenandoah caters more to musical theater students than classical - at least with regard to performance opportunities. There is some hope among opera singers that the new dean will turn things around in that regard but musical theater is the darling right now at many schools, and the vocal performance majors tend to be second fiddle. The credentials of the voice faculty are quite impressive, but the reputation among classical singers lags. NCSA, on the other hand, does not have musical theater, but it's straight theater department is probably it's most highly ranked department - considered by some to be the best anywhere. The vocal faculty there appears to be strong and Marion Pratnicki is particularly well known and when you look af the NATS winners in the area, you sill see her name time and time again. The drawback for NCSA, for my daughter, was location. I think it would be great for graduate school, but it did not appeal to her for undergrad. That being said, a friend of hers from school is a freshman there in stage production and loves it.</p>
<p>Violadad, I just read your post - is Shenandoah back to staging two full operas? I looked at the performance calendar and they only have one on there now in April, but maybe it is incomplete. At one point recently, they were down to one and the word was that the one opera was handled by the MT department so casting was skewed towards MT even for the opera. If they do two now, that is a good sign.</p>
<p>thank you very much violadad and cartera 45! :) your inputs are indeed very helpful. i have entered the MT forum, and MT seems to be Shenandoah's forte. cartera45, thanks for the info re: NCSA. good to know their theater dept. is considered one of the best. singers who get access to such theater training have an edge (of course that's if their VP program is good.) </p>
<p>does anyone else have any additional info on NCSA's VP program? :)</p>
<p>The two females on the faculty, Marilyn Taylor and Marion Pratnicki, have turned out some excellent singers. There are lots of performance opportunities in the area. Fletcher Opera Institute A.J</a>. Fletcher Opera Institute is the premiere area of voice there, mostly graduates students. Good luck.</p>
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<p>The drawback for NCSA, for my daughter, was location. I think it would be great for graduate school, but it did not appeal to her for undergrad.>></p>
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<p>Just curious what this student doesn't like about the location? My son is a graduate student there and actually likes Winston-Salem quite a bit. He also likes NCSA! He is not a voice major, however. NCSA does not have MT, but the do musicals there. Last year they did a VERY highly rated production of West Side Story. I didn't see it, but from all reports it was absolutely fantastic.</p>
<p>The problem my daughter had with location just relates to what she has in mind with regard to a campus. As to what surrounds the campus, she would like to be able to walk for coffee or ice cream or lunch - little things that I don't think she would have any problem with for graduate school. But, for undergrad, she wants more of the classic campus feel. She liked the facilities - the one performance venue we visited in the music building was lovely and that building is very nice. The other building where the offices and practice studios are is an older, more standard academic building, but perfectly fine. She likes Winston Salem - all of North Carolina for that matter. I think the voice department is strong there. I would imagine it could be high on her list for graduate school - of course, it is incredibly difficult to get into for graduate voice.</p>
<p>Salem College is between NCSA and downtown Winston-Salem, and the kids do walk that route to the Stephens Center, where the major performances are held......and there are some nice coffee shops and restaurants there, lots of super shopping in town. There are many major performance personalities who alight there, lots of super experiences and exposures, a cozy world.</p>