Ján Levoslav Bella Conservatory, Banská Bystrica

Founded in September 1992, the Ján Levoslav Bella Conservatory, Banská Bystrica is the youngest of the four state conservatories in Slovakia. The Conservatory bears the name of leading Slovak composer Ján Levoslav Bella (1843-1936), who from 1859-1863 studied in in Banská Bystrica and from 1865-1869 taught music and singing at the Theological Seminary.

The Conservatory is a specialised secondary school which provides training in the fields of art music, singing and dancing. The period of study is six years, five years in the field of dance. After the baccalaureate in the fourth year, students can apply for admission to a college or continue their study in the fifth and sixth grade, which are aimed at the teaching discipline.

The Conservatory currently has around 180 pupils from all over Slovakia, studying in three areas: (i) Music - stringed instruments, wind instruments, piano, accordion, church music, conducting, playing organ, composition; (ii) Voice - solo (opera) singing; and (iii) Dancing - every student studies classical, modern and folk dance