OWNER & DIRECTOR

Rachel received her B.S in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College, and has taught choir & show choir in both public and private schools for 18 years. She also taught private voice and piano, and ran a Vocal Performance Academy in Martinsburg, WV for 5 years.

Rachel also performed on many stages in concert and chamber choirs, as well as landing lead roles in many musicals.

In the show choir circuit, she coached her middle school competitive show choir, South Spirit, to win multiple Grand Championships, often out-ranking high school groups. She has won multiple show design awards and was featured as the first Middle School director to receive the State Honors Show Choir award. She also spent 3 years coaching Clover Hill High School’s show choirs, also receiving multiple grand championships and captions with both show choirs. Her mixed group, New Dimensions, won Grand Champion at every competition in VA under her direction. Her greatest victory was inspiring a culture of healthy competition and rallying together the community during the pandemic in order to preserve this art.

Rachel is a passionate and tenacious music educator, who now also specializes in freelancing as a show designer, clinician, and competition adjudicator for multiple schools across the country.

This studio has been a lifelong dream of hers and she is extremely excited to bring it to fruition with her partner Ryan.

OWNER & CHOREOGRAPHER

Ryan Shapiro is an alumnus of Manchester High School & is currently the choreographer & technical director for The Show Choirs of Manchester. Ryan has served performing arts departments & local theatres in the region for the past 17 years as a Choreographer, Technical Director, Event Organizer, Stage & Travel Manager, Project Manager & Show Designer. Ryan serves as Master of Ceremonies for corporate and social events throughout the region. Nationally, he has been the Stage Manager for Heart of America Entertainment, assisting in producing world class show choir events across the country.

Ryan is passionate about the performing arts & dedicated to showcasing its vital role in the human experience. Providing a performing arts opportunity and showcasing the arts of show choir has long been a passion and ever chased shooting star… he is grateful to work along side Rachel to make this studio a reality and provide the students of Chesterfield and the surrounding region an exciting new experience through the performing arts! We look forward to working with students, teachers and families in becoming apart of the Richmond performing arts community!