Valor Summer Conservatory is established for the spiritual and artistic development of Christian college-age musicians. VSC offers a nine-week summer conservatory program for college age musicians called by God to a ministry and/or professional career in music. There is no other summer conservatory offering a concentrated performance-oriented program with high classical standards, conservative Christian philosophy and strong scriptural values. VSC is a vital ministry for training musicians to minister to God’s people and to proclaim to the world the testimony and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Causes for Establishment

A major cause for the establishment of VSC is the realization that many young musicians engaged in a four-year undergraduate program must spend their summer vacations engaged in non-music employment to pay for their college education rather than in investing their time and energy in the development of their musical abilities. During this four-year period of collegiate preparation when sustained skill development is most critical, students find their training interrupted by summers of virtual exile from artistic nourishment. These stagnant periods cause discouragement, dulling of performance acumen and retrogression of musical skill hard-earned during the course of the previous academic year. Over the span of a four-year degree, summers accumulate to a year’s time, the benefit of which is irretrievably and forever lost.

Another major cause for the establishment of VSC is the realization that music faculty of Christian colleges are often in a similar situation to that of their students, i.e. in not having the opportunity nor resources to improve their musical and professional skills during the summers. The Christian music teacher also often loses a year in four by having no other recourse but to engage in non-musical, non-professional occupation to meet financial obligations. This waste of time and mind diverges from the core principal of Christian stewardship.

Another major cause for the establishment of VSC is the realization that to our knowledge there is no summer-long conservatory program in existence with strong scriptural, conservative, fundamental values in regard to music. While secular summer music programs generally offer outstanding musical instruction, they provide an environment that undermines Christian values. Some of the other well-known Christian summer arts programs offer no stand against CCM nor voice the kind of cautionary perspective most fundamental Christians hold regarding the classical concert world. There is a need for a summer-long conservatory for college-age musicians that glorifies God with the highest Biblical values (1 Cor. 10:31).