Conservatory for the Arts

About the Conservatory

Discover your creative spirit!

Young artists flourish in Mayfield's Conservatory for the Arts 

We dance, draw, paint, write, take stunning photos and sing our hearts out. We love to perform under a spotlight. The Conservatory is far more than an extracurricular activity. With rigor and excitement our UC-accredited courses unfold on stage, in studios and in hands-on workshops as Mayfield trains the next generation of artists and artistic thinkers.

We nurture and develop artistic talent

Mayfield’s signature Conservatory for the Arts program strikes an engaging balance for both aspiring and dedicated artists. For the past 30 years, our program has produced artistic thinkers who know how to integrate creativity, voice and expression into their lives. Our artists develop confidence and resilience as they form bonds with a group of girls who become their closest friends. 

Mayfield teachers are working artists who enthusiastically share their real-world knowledge at every meeting. As Holy Child educators they teach students to use their artistic gifts to engage with and interpret the world around them.

— Cornelia Connelly

Art is a universal language, and also a discipline which calls for close attention, leading to wonderment and contemplation.

Upcoming Shows & Events

List of 3 events.

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  • Visual Arts Visual Arts
    Students explore creative mediums with curiosity in the art studio where they are encouraged to develop their individual expression.
  • Theatre Theatre
    The techniques and concepts of drama, including acting, directing and dramaturgy, come alive in a full season of plays.
  • Technical Theatre Technical Theatre
    This hands-on class teaches the artistry of lighting, sound, stage management and set building and design.
  • Photography Photography
    Young photographers develop a personal vision by learning the techniques of black and white processes, digital camera operation and media arts.
  • Vocal Music Vocal Music
    The nationally acclaimed Mayfield Women’s Ensemble is a credit to students’ study of vocal style and technique.
  • Instrumental Music Instrumental Music
    From classical to popular, jazz to world music, Mayfield musicians learn and perform a variety of styles and play from the heart.
  • Film & Media Film & Media
    This eye-opening conservatory introduces students to all aspects of the art of making film, video and digital media.
  • Dance Dance
    Dancers take to the stage in popular performances, expressing their skills through creative choreography and technique.
  • Creative Writing Creative Writing
    Authors delve into fiction and poetry writing in a literary and artistic environment, collaborating with performing artists on new works.

Conservatory News

  • Arts Spotlight: The Music Never Stops

    This week, we sat down with Denise Leitner for a behind-the-scenes peek at the Spring Dance Concert and an interview as she finishes her final Mayfield production. Read more to learn what you can expect from the show, and hear about how she came to Mayfield, what she has learned from her students, and what she plans to do with her retirement.

    Your current and final dance concert for Mayfield is entitled, “The Music Never Stops.” With a name like that, was it meant to be a gentle nod to your retirement? Or do the students help shape the names of the shows?

    ​​I'm gonna be honest with you—it's the title of a Grateful Dead song! (Denise laughs) When I knew that this was my last show, I thought I'm gonna pay homage to some music that has inspired me as a dancer, because when you go to those shows and you see those people dance there, it's so free. I could say that this is the name of a song, but also the name inspires me. Even when I leave the school, the music never stops, dance will go on, art will go on. The journey will continue.
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  • Mayfield’s student journalists learn the tools of their trade and create “pods for a cause”

    The Digital Media room—one of the spaces on campus that didn’t exist before the recent Strub Capital Campaign—is humming this March afternoon. Journalism students sit around a large square table, laptops open. They have a deadline coming up: an 8-minute podcast submission for the NPR High School Podcast Challenge. Everyone is working on their own projects, at their own speed, some in pairs, some working solo. Many have their headphones on, deep inside their editing software. Others are focused inside of their text documents, rewriting script elements and cutting out old content. But whenever instructor Kimberly Gomez cues up something on the central screen, everyone looks up to review the artwork or audio content for whatever feedback is required.
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  • Arts Spotlight: It’s not your mother’s “Wizard of Oz”

    It’s no secret that COVID-19 changed a lot about the ways we gather, the ways we celebrate and the ways we collaborate. Our annual musical at Mayfield is a combination of all three elements. It is a gathering, a joyful celebration of talent, and a result of a deep collaboration between several conservatories: theatre, tech theatre, dance, vocal music and instrumental music. Although all of those conservatories have returned to performing and/or operating again this year individually, this production of “The Wizard of Oz” will be the first time everyone is joining forces together for a truly meaningful performance, with the talents of so many groups on display. 
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  • What’s it like to be back on stage at Mayfield? Our Theatre Director gives us a “Clue”...

    It’s been 19 months since Mayfield’s Pike Auditorium theatre went dark, and although the recent All Arts Night briefly brought audiences back in person, yesterday was the first time Mayfield theatre returned in earnest, with the whodunit murder-comedy “Clue.” We sat down with Theatre Director Maryanne Householder to hear about the lead-up to this long-awaited opening night... 
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  • Spring brings new life to Mayfield’s performing arts 

    As our community comes closer to in-person learning this spring, the performing arts Conservatory programs at Mayfield have been pioneering new ways to rehearse, perform and engage with audiences, while abiding by pandemic restrictions. This week, vocal music instructor Andrew Alvarez conducted rehearsals as part of a “car choir” with members of the Women’s Ensemble, and theatre director Maryanne Householder launched the first-ever Cubs Cabaret, which was open to all Mayfield student artists who wanted to take on some of Broadway’s milestones in monologues, dances and songs. We caught up with Mr. Alvarez and Ms. Householder to hear more about their recent projects.
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  • The show must go on(line)! In 2020, Shakespeare’s heroines meet up on Zoom

    When the 2020-2021 theatre season had to start remotely, Theatre Conservatory Director Maryanne Householder didn’t fuss. Auditions? She could hold them on Zoom. Plenty of actors prepare remote auditions at the best of times. Rehearsals? A ton of play preparation involves research, which could be done online, too. No sweat. And Ms. Householder’s can-do attitude extended to the selection of the fall production as well. She chose a one-act play without too many technical requirements, dealing with material that she loves to teach, and a story that would make the actors shine.
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  • OLIVER! production showcases the breadth of Mayfield's talented community

    It takes a village to bring the beloved musical Oliver! to life in Pike Auditorium. This year’s all-school musical draws from Mayfield’s vast community of talent, from alumnae siblings and faculty spouses, to athletes who are making their Pike stage debuts.
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  • Photography students travel back in time to capture an image of the original Strub Hall

    To commemorate the centennial of Strub Hall, Paul Tzanetopoulos’ photography class embarked on an ambitious project—to take a photo of the 100-year-old building with a 100-year-old camera. Paul’s extensive camera collection includes an early folding model used by photographers around the same time that the 500 Bellefontaine estate was built. The final result was a spectral and awe-inspiring portrait of Strub Hall, an image that looks very much like those in the Mayfield archives. We sat down with Mr. T to discuss how this photograph came into being.
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  • Mayfield student artists bring home 19 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

    Congratulations to our student artists, who racked up an impressive tally of 19 awards in the 2020 Western Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from a pool of more than 60,000 submissions. The Scholastic Awards, which recognize students in 29 different genres of creative arts and writing, are among the nation’s oldest and most prestigious arts prizes.
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  • Mayfield’s art historians explore the legacy of local artists

    by Emma Stolpe '20

    This Tuesday, Nora Warren’s AP Art History class visited the Jonathan Club in Downtown Los Angeles to learn about their hometown’s rich art history. The breakfast outing was hosted by generous club members John and Patti O’Keefe, who invited the group of 20 students to hear guest speaker Christina Nielsen, Director of the Art Museum at The Huntington, and experience a private tour of the Jonathan Club’s impressive art collection.
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  • Broadway costume designer Michael Krass speaks to freshman theatre students about his craft

    Broadway designer helps theatre students embrace the power of what Cornelia Connelly called “The Holy Child Theatre”

    On the eve of Cornelia Connelly’s Jan. 15 birthday, the students in Maryanne Householder’s freshman theatre class are in for a surprise—an unannounced guest speaker is in their midst. As the girls huddle, cross-legged, in a circle on the stage of Pike Auditorium, accomplished Broadway costume designer Michael Krass joins them for a candid conversation about his craft and his career.
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  • Dancers rehearse for

    “A Night at the Museum” brings artwork to vivid life

    “A Night at the Museum,” presented by Mayfield’s Dance and Technical Theatre Conservatories, is set to take audience members on a journey of light, fantasy, and art, right from the whimsical opening number, choreographed to music from the 2006 film “A Night at the Museum.” 
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  • Bestselling author Janet Fitch guided Creative Writing students through immersive writing exercises

    A writer’s touch: bestselling author Janet Fitch offers tangible advice

    by Emily Wallace ’20
    Have you ever picked up a scarf and just felt it? Closed your eyes, no talking, just your touch and the scarf. You don’t know what color it is, where it came from, or who gave it to you, but you just feel it. And as you are feeling, you smell a familiar scent and hear the sound of nature in the background. The room’s edges become defined, the light is reflecting and making shadows...you no longer feel the fabric in your hands. Instead, you feel the story, the character.
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  • Senior Art Show presents an early expression of each artist

    The September opening of the senior visual art show gave the Mayfield community a glimpse of the talent that the Class of 2020 has to offer. “The show is a beginning point, with a combination of work they have done at Mayfield that could be in their portfolio,” said AP Studio Art teacher Amy Green. “Starting things at the top of the year, they can see their history and are able to see—hopefully—at least one piece that has a spark for their investigations.”
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  • The work of six freshman artists is on display at the Autry Museum

    Mayfield artists put themselves ‘out there’ to strong reviews

    Mayfield artists pushed outside the familiar gates of Bellefontaine this spring, taking a bold step to put their art “out there” before critics, adjudicators and the public. The results are worthy of a standing ovation:
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  • Dancers show skill, confidence and beauty in ‘Locomotion’ Choreographers’ Ball

    In a delightfully entertaining show of talent and heartfelt emotion, the Dance Conservatory’s 2019 Choreographers’ Ball showcased the skills of our junior and senior dancers and our Technical Theatre members who created the 100% student-run show.
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  • The Women's Ensemble performs at Wentz Concert Hall in Chicago

    The soaring voices of Mayfield’s Women’s Ensemble score a strong “A” at prestigious national festival.

    Our acclaimed Women’s Ensemble received among the top scores at a national choir festival following their three-song performance that earned seven “perfect tens” for blend, balance difficulty and rhythm.
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  • 'Into the Woods' is more than great theatre, it’s a bold collaboration

    Beneath the black cape a screaming, mean old Witch is a student overcame stage fright. The musicians tucked in the orchestra pit had never experienced the rigor of playing for a live stage production. Those three massive moveable trees on stage? Our technical theatre students started building them back in January, pneumatic staplers in hand.
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  • Our award-winning writers and artists

    Mayfield creative writers and visual artists win 18 prestigious awards

    Two Mayfield poets wrote from the heart, personal messages they hold dear. A student photographer captured a poignant moment with her grandmother, a shot she treasures. A painter took a risk with a multimedia project and decided to put her work and vulnerability on display.
    Read More
  • A panel discussion with art school admissions officers clarified portfolio submission expectations

    Mayfield visual artists learn what it takes to curate college portfolios

    Navigating the college application process is stressful enough. For prospective visual art students it’s even trickier—they face a myriad of portfolio requirements and another layer of deadlines.
    Read More
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Mayfield Senior School
500 Bellefontaine St
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 799-9121
Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.