Naperville, IL

(630) 243-5100

Same Programming, New Name! Academy of the Arts is now Illinois Conservatory for the Arts

Coming up:

IMPACT: Musical Theatre

Winter | January 2-5, 2025

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Register Now:

A Night of Broadway

Friday, February 21, 2025

Buy Tickets

The Pilot Program for ICA’s K-12 day school is launching Fall 2025.

At Illinois Conservatory for the Arts, our students will engage in a practicum of pre-professional arts training balanced with rigorous academics.

Applications will open Early Spring 2025 for a limited number of spots. Selected applicants will audition for ICA with placement for those accepted in Late Spring 2025.

Join the Interest List

Performing Arts

Dance
Music
Theatre

Visual Arts

Drawing
Painting
Ceramics & Sculpture

Media Arts

Graphic Design
Animation
Photo & Video

Arts Business

Entrepreneurship
Finance
Marketing

Academic areas

Math
language arts
Reading
Science
Social Studies

OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH OUR APPROACH

Artistic Mentorship

Adjunct instructors from the collegiate and professional artistic industries provide our students with a direct link to the current state of the arts world.

Arts Business

All students take business courses to prepare them to be artistic entrepreneurs.

Dual Credit/ap courses

In partnership with College of DuPage, ICA high school students are able to receive college credit for coursework in the arts and business.

Capstone Projects

Students conduct capstone projects in their major art area of concentration. A culminating project where students will be encouraged to think critically and creatively. Artists develop skills in research, communication, media literacy, self-sufficiency, and professionalism.

Masterclasses

Guest teaching artists are essential to our curriculum. All arts areas feature a rotation of professional teaching artists throughout the year to provide a wide, scope of skills and perspectives.

Hands-on learning

Students have access to professional experiences to prepare them for the real artistic world.

modern technology

As a pre-professional arts program, students have access to modern technology that prepares them for arts experiences in the real world.

specialized coursework

As students grow in the program, they take specialized courses to prepare them in their areas of interest beyond general arts classes. For example, a music student will take courses in conducting, arranging, and private lessons on their instruments as part of their school day.

Student Internships

With professional partnerships at the core of our philosophy, students are given the opportunity to partner with professional artists and arts organizations to further their education through internships.

Ica... future in the arts path to a career world of possibilities dream becoming reality

ica...

Dream becoming reality
future in the arts
path to a career
world of possibilities

k–12 day school
launching Fall 2025

pre-enrollment Auditions begin january 2025

official enrollment opens march 2025

Join Interest list

Nondiscriminatory Policy

Illinois Conservatory for Arts employs staff and admits students of any race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, gender, religion, and sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, and ethnic origin, gender, religion, and sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.

High-level arts meets
high-achieving academics.

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JOIN THE INTEREST LIST

The Pilot Program for ICA’s K-12 day school is launching Fall 2025.

Fill out the form below to get on the official interest list and access the survey form. Applications will open in Early Spring 2025.

JANUARY 2–5, 2025

Check availability

IMPACT is popular and fills up fast! You'll be forwarded to the registration form to grab your spot.

DONATE TODAY!

Illinois Conservatory for the Arts is a 501c3 not-for-profit arts institution. Your support provides high-level arts experiences for students in the Chicagoland area.

Chaz Wolcott / Dance

Chaz Wolcott is an actor, director and choreographer based in New York City, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. He earned his BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University.

As a performer, Chaz has been seen as Buttons on the First National Tour of Disney’s Newsies. You can also catch Chaz’s performance in Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical, available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. Chaz also starred in the 30th Anniversary Tour of Cats as the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. Chaz was featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Favorite regional credits include: 42nd Street (Andy Lee), Mary Poppins, Gypsy, Legally Blonde and productions at Music Theatre of Wichita, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, The Gateway, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Fulton Theatre, The Fireside, Casa Mañana, Westchester Broadway Theatre, Gretna Theatre and more.

Emily Kristen Morris / Voice

Emily Kristen Morris is an NYC-based actor, singer, dancer, certified vocal instructor, and popular online content creator (1.7 Million followers on TikTok). Emily has performed across the nation and internationally, and was most recently the Elphaba standby on the Broadway national tour of WICKED. Currently, Emily is starring as Elsa in Paramount Theatre’s production of Frozen. Her past theatre credits include: Bea in the national tour of Something Rotten, White Plains Performing Arts Center (Daisy in Side Show), The Rev (Sophie in Mamma Mia), Cape Playhouse, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (Nellie in South Pacific in concert), Gateway Playhouse, Weston Playhouse, and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Emily has also performed as a solo vocalist with symphony orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, and the Norwalk Symphony. Her voice is also featured on Joey Contreras’ new album “In Pieces.” On social media Emily is popular for her voice-teaching videos, her singing covers, and her vocal-coach-reacts videos. When she’s not performing, Emily runs her highly sought-after voice studio, EKM Vocal Studio, where she teaches lessons, masterclasses and workshops to passionate singers both virtually and in-person in NYC. Emily is certified through the Institute For Vocal Advancement (IVA), and received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Cincinnati; College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Salisha Thomas / Acting

SALISHA Thomas is a Broadway performer, author, former Miss California, a commercial and voiceover artist, a producer and director, vlogger, blogger, and media personality. She performed in the 1st National Touring and Broadway companies of Beautiful the Carole King Musical, and the Britney Spears Musical: Once Upon a One More Time. She’s the host of Black Hair in the Big Leagues and The Salisha Show podcasts and the red carpet correspondent for The Broadway Podcast Network. @theSalishashow www.thesalishashow.com

Patrick Maravilla / Casting

Born and raised in California, Patrick started as a performer but quickly fell in love with casting. As a Pisces with a Taurus moon, he aims to bring joy and light to the table while cultivating an inclusive and equitable space. Some of his favorite casting credits include Chicago, A Wonderful World, Peter Pan (National Tour), Gatsby, Life of Pi, Destiny of Desire, and Come Fall in Love!

JOIN THE STUDIO INTEREST LIST

Evening & Weekend Classes
Individual Courses & Conservatory Tracks

Fill out the form below to get on the interest list for The Studio. We will update you with schedules and registration information as enrollment opens.