All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.

Curriculum Detail

Select a Department

Department

Fine Arts Music

The musical ensembles at Woodberry are classes, meeting during the academic day and are therefore not in conflict with athletics. Two years of participation in ensembles satisfies Woodberry’s Fine Arts graduation requirement.

Beginning Strings

Beginning Strings - open to all forms, no experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Beginning Strings

Students may begin study on violin, viola, cello or double bass with no prior experience. Basic position, reading and ensemble skills are taught to prepare students to enter String Ensemble.
String Ensemble

String Ensemble - open to all forms, experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for String Ensemble

The primary String Orchestra for all string players with experience. No audition required; basic experience is expected. Chamber music groups (quartets, trios and duos) can be formed from the String Ensemble group. A weekly private lesson is provided as a component of the class.
Beginning Band

Beginning Band - open to all forms, no experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Beginning Band

Students may begin study on flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone or tuba. The class is made up of a combination of group work and private lessons and is designed to prepare students to enter the Concert Band the following year. This course is also a good choice for students who have studied a band instrument but have not yet mastered the concert B flat scale.
Concert Band

Concert/Jazz Band - open to all forms, basic experience required.

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Concert/Jazz Band

The Concert Band is comprised of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. A piano, guitar and bass player are admitted by audition. The band plays traditional and contemporary music for Wind Ensemble as well as some pop and jazz selections. No audition is necessary for wind and percussion instruments but basic experience on the instrument is expected. A weekly private lesson is provided as a component of the class. The Jazz Band, comprised of a specific quantity of saxophone, trumpet and trombone players and rhythm section, will be designated from among the Concert Band.
Beginning Drumming

Open to all forms, no experience required

Beginning Drumming is for students with limited or no musical experience. The class studies both Scottish and Corps style drumming as well as Concert Band/Orchestral percussion. The course is designed to prepare students for continued participation in either the Concert Band or the Pipe Band Drumline. A weekly private lesson is provided as a component of the class.
Drumline

Drumline - open to all forms, experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Drumline

Drumline is for students with some musical experience on percussion or another instrument. The class studies both Scottish and Corps style drumming and serves primarily as the drum section of the Woodberry Forest Pipe Band. A weekly private lesson is provided as a component of the class.
Choir

The Woodberry Forest Chapel Choir - open to all forms, no experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Choir

Provides music for our weekly chapel services. Open to all forms with a simple audition. Includes vocal technique — especially for the changing voice — and music reading skills. No previous experience required.
Dozen

The Woodberry Forest Dozen - open to all forms by audition

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Dozen

The Dozen is Woodberry’s premier choral ensemble and one of its treasured traditions. The group specializes in a cappella music from all periods of music history, especially the Renaissance and modern popular music. The Dozen is open to all forms but is typically made up of upper form singers with significant singing experience in the Woodberry Choral Program, elsewhere, or both.
Beginning Bagpipes

Beginning Bagpipes - open to all forms, no experience required

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Beginning Bagpipes

Beginning Bagpipes is an introductory course for those wishing to begin study of the great Highland Bagpipe and is designed to prepare students for continued participation in the Pipe Band. No musical experience is necessary.
Bagpipes

Bagpipes

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Bagpipes

Pipe Band - open to all forms, experience required

Pipe Band is a class for those wishing to continue their study of bagpipes through participation in the Woodberry Forest Pipe Band.
Honors Music Theory

Honors Music Theory - open to all forms, but typically fifth or sixth formers; significant previous experience is required.

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Honors Music Theory

This course is designed to give students competence to use functional harmony, counterpoint, and form both in the analysis of existing works and in the creation of original musical material. Emphasis is on the principles of the common practice period. There is also a survey of 20th century compositional techniques. Basic keyboard skills and advanced ear training are key elements of this course. Students who successfully complete this course will be prepared to take the Advanced Placement exam in Music Theory if they so choose.
Intermediate Music Theory

Open to all forms. Syllabi are developed with individuals or small groups.

Textbook:
There are no required textbooks for Intermediate Music Theory

Courses are one trimester long and repeatable or may meet once a week all year for a trimester credit. Study is available in music theory, electronic music, recording engineering, composition, chamber music and other topics by request.

Our Faculty

Wallace Hornady

Fine Arts, Fine Arts Music

Chairman, Music

Belhaven College - BM
Westminster Choir College - MM
The Royal College of Organists - ARCO

wallace_hornady@woodberry.org

1996
Bio
Wallace Hornady is chair of the music department and the Preyer Master for Fine Arts. He teaches music, directs Woodberry’s vocal groups, plays the organ, and assists with dramatic productions. Mr. Hornady earned his BM from Belhaven College, his MM from Westminster Choir College, and the ARCO from The Royal College of Organists. He came to Woodberry in 1996 from the American Boychoir School and lives in the Seymore House.
Lakota Coon

Fine Arts, Fine Arts Drama and Speech, Fine Arts Music, Fine Arts Visual, Fine Arts Drama

lakota_coon@woodberry.org

2025
Tim Stakem

Fine Arts, Fine Arts Music

Director of Visual and Performing Arts

(540) 672-3900 Ext 5308

Frostburg State University - BS
University of Southwestern Louisiana - MM

tim_stakem@woodberry.org

1994
Bio
Tim Stakem, who holds the Bernard Mastership, directs the jazz band, the wind ensemble, and the pipe band and mentors varsity music students. A member of the faculty since 1994, Mr. Stakem has a BS from Frostburg State University and an MM from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He and his wife Tracey, are the parents of two children, Parris ’18 and Aidan '23. The Stakems live in the Jackson House.
Lisa Wright

Fine Arts, Fine Arts Music

Director of Strings

(540) 672-3900 ext. 5380

Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester - BM

lisa_wright@woodberry.org

2010
Bio
Lisa Wright teaches music and directs Woodberry’s strings program. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. Before coming to Woodberry in 2010, she spent many years performing and teaching in New York City and serving in college administration. Ms. Wright is a founding member of The Bloom Trio and regularly performs with the Roanoke Symphony, Opera Roanoke, the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, and the Chamber Orchestra of Charlottesville. She lives in Harrisonburg.

Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.

Woodberry Forest, VA 22989
Phone: 540-672-3900

Explore & Resources

Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.