About Us

Academy of the Performing Arts

… from beginner to professional...

The Academy of the Performing Arts is a school devoted to the artistic development of the young child to adult. The school was founded in 2006 by director Carol Pharo. You are invited to become a part of this special program, in which individual attention and the very best instruction will maximize the potential of every aspiring artist!

Carol Pharo

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Carol Pharo, founder/director, holds degrees/diplomas from Penn State, New England Conservatory, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and The Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Her teachers have included Earl Wild and Lamar Crowson, piano; Stanley Hoogland, fortepiano, John Gibbons, harpsichord, and Madeleine Inglehearne, Julia Sutton and Margaret Daniels, renaissance and baroque dance.

Ms. Pharo began teaching at the age of ten and performing professionally at the age of thirteen. She brings a unique background to her work, including music history, early music performance, historical dance, and theater. She has taught and performed in England, South Africa, The Netherlands, and the United States. Ms. Pharo is currently an instructor in the Extended Day program at Young Scholars Charter School of Central Pennsylvania. Ms. Pharo currently teaches music and dance at the Park Forest Preschool and in the Extended Day program at Young Scholars Charter School of Central Pennsylvania. She plays violin in the Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra and is organist at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.

Lisa Raymond

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Lisa Raymond holds violin performance degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale University. She has performed with many orchestras in the United States—among them, The Albany Symphony, The Syracuse Symphony, The Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, The Nittany Valley Symphony, The Penns Woods Festival, and The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra. She has been guest concert master with The Nittany Valley Symphony and the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, as well as principal second violin with The Nittany Valley Symphony. She has given many recitals, has been a member of numerous chamber ensembles, and was a founding member of The Ithaca Trio.

Ms. Raymond has been a violin and viola instructor for over 35 years and tailors her instruction to each student and his/her unique needs. Her emphasis is on building technique, while at the same time fostering a love of music and the desire to be the best musician that each student can be.

Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Voice, Recorder, Guitar, Ballet, Creative Dance, & More!

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