The “idea seeds” for the Concordia Music Conservatory began in the spring of 2021 with a strong vision to provide a solution to the growing need to produce competent musicians in the region.  In the summer of 2021, the SPLHS Board of Trustees agreed to partner with CMC by offering the use of the music building facilities on the SPLHS campus. On September 2, 2021, the CMC Board of Directors held its first official meeting. In the spring of 2022, CMC launched with its first enrollment of 9 students in strings and voice.

CMC has grown steadily since its inception. The fall of 2026 marks CMC’s five-year anniversary, and we celebrate the hundreds of students who have been and still are enrolled at the Concordia Music Conservatory! Concordia Music Conservatory has students enrolled in in private lessons in piano, organ, strings, voice, guitar, and brass instruments. True to our mission, we have children, teens and adults all enrolled in private music lessons!  In addition to private lessons, CMC also offers two regional community children’s choirs, a beginning guitar ensemble, a Handbell Choir, and summer music camps and workshops for children from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  

In July 2024, CMC hired Dr. Jerrode Marsh as a half-time Executive Director, and, with continued growth, the ¼-time Executive Assistant position was added to support administrative and marketing tasks related to growing enrollment and development needs.  CMC will be opening up a satellite location in Urich, MO, to meet the travel demands of rural families south of Concordia. The Board of Directors has now expanded to seven members, and the Strategic Planning Committee (formed in the fall of 2025) is gathering information to make recommendations about the direction CMC could or should go in the next five years. This includes a possible new facility in partnership with SPLHS to meet the ever-growing needs of the organization.  CMC has a strong vision to become the regional center of music education and appreciation for the benefit of congregations, communities and the world! 

Students enrolled in CMC come from all over the region—many families even drive more than an hour each way to receive high-quality music instruction at the Concordia Music Conservatory.  CMC upholds a high standard for its instructors; unlike so many private music studios, each CMC instructor has a music degrees, and most have at least a master’s degree.  CMC values excellence, but also accessibility for all who want to enroll. The exceptional instruction is why so many students regularly receive top medals and awards in contests, festivals, and performances. The Concordia Community Kinderchor (grades 4-8) has already gained a reputation for being a superior regional children’s chorus in Missouri; they have performed with the Sedalia Symphony Orchestra, have sung in two statewide conventions, and recently completed their first 3-day concert tour.  

CMC is committed to growing enrollment and offering many types of music events.  This fall will include a music clinic for students, where they can enroll for a day and work with a Master teacher on some passages they are working on in their music classes. This provides motivation and helps them learn more about their instrument, even if they are not currently taking private lessons. 

We welcome your support! Subscribe and you will receive two CMC newsletters each year that give you more detailed updates about what is happening at CMC. You can also follow us on Facebook or donate through the “Donate Now” button. You can also contact us for more information at info@cmc-music-org.