bout WCM
bout WCM
The Washington Conservatory of Music was established as a non-profit music school in 1984 by four Co-Founders: pianist Liova Kaplan, pianist Dionne Laufman, cellist Miron Yampolsky and founding-Director Diana Young. The school was named a conservatory to indicate the highest quality of musical instruction for young beginner students through adults. The Founders looked to the Moscow Conservatory and the Yehudi Menuhin School in England as models and planned to institute two tracks of study for both select gifted students and for students admitted without audition. The original governance of the organization included a faculty committee, administrator, and board of directors.
In 1991 the Washington Conservatory was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music Commission on non-degree granting institutions, a distinction it proudly maintains today. Through the years the Conservatory has evolved to become an open-door admission policy school. Students of all ages and levels may study without audition under the guidance of WCM’s esteemed international artist-faculty. In 1998 the conservatory leadership structure was changed with the creation of a musician/Executive Director position. WCM currently serves approximately five hundred students and fifty faculty members. Lessons are now offered in Bethesda and the District of Columbia. Besides offering the finest musical instruction through individual lessons, classes and classical and jazz ensembles, the Conservatory sponsors a community orchestra and has adopted an additional mission of presenting a series of free professional concerts. To that end, since 1998 over one hundred concerts and special events have been presented to the Greater DC community.
Our Vision
The Washington Conservatory of Music believes that music-making can be a model for peaceful cooperation in the world. Its international faculty develops every person’s innate musical gifts by challenging experienced students and uplifting new musicians of all ages. The Conservatory reflects and enriches the cosmopolitan city of Washington with concerts, individual study, and ensemble playing.
Adopted October 2004
Washington Conservatory Board of Trustees
The Washington Conservatory of Music is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS), is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.
One Westmoreland Circle
Bethesda, MD 20816
Phone: 301-320-2770
3920 Alton Place NW
Washington, DC 20016
on Tenley Circle
Phone: 202-237-8206
Fax: 301-320-2794
Email: info@washingtonconservatory.org
