The Community Conservatory is the oldest and largest non-profit
501(c) 3 organization community arts school in Bucks County. Founded
by Ms. Eleanor Gross in 1988. It had been her dream for many years
to start a school to provide high quality music instruction for
the residents of Central Bucks County and the surrounding Delaware
Valley. Eleanor or “Dolly,” gathered together a dedicated
group of local musicians, music educators and business leaders.
The dream became reality when Mrs. Gross connected with Delaware
Valley College. The president’s house was the conservatory’s
first home and initial offerings included private instruction
in piano, organ, voice and strings. Almost 23 years later, the
relationship remains strong between Del Val and CCM.
The Conservatory embarked upon a great start through the boundless
enthusiasm and determination of Ms. Gross and the founding Board
of Directors. We soon outgrew the space at the Del Val, and in
1991, moved to a stone house located on Swamp Road in Plumstead
Township. Currently inhabited by Allstate, this new home provided
twice the space, allowing the conservatory to grow over the next
couple of years.
Through the quality of our instruction and the success of new
programs, the number of students continued to increase significantly.
This led to a need for larger accommodations. As a result, in
1993 we moved into an elegant Victorian mansion on Court Street
in Doylestown. We spent many glorious years in this beautiful
setting and generated thousands of new, artistic relationships.
In August 2005, we moved to our new location at 4459 W. Swamp
Road in Doylestown. We choose the location because of its historic
significance. A 160-year-old barn, complete with exposed beams
and stonewalls made our decision easy. In September of 2008, we
helped form Elite Strings that serves over 80 dedicated string
players at North Penn Church of Christ in Montgomeryville. For
the last 6 years we have carved out new space, programs and amazing
amount of life out of this grandiose building. Most recently we
opened a satellite at St. Andrews School in Newtown.