Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Milwaukee Children's Choir - Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Milwaukee Children's Choir
Liberace and Gene Wilder studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. So did Justin Hurwitz, composer of the Oscar-winning score for La La Land, as well as recording artist Angie Swan and thousands—many thousands—of less well-known professional and amateur musicians who emerged from the Conservatory’s many programs. In recent years, the Conservatory has also become the primary connection between music education and many Milwaukee school students. And the Conservatory has reached beyond traditional classrooms, exposing even the youngest children to the salutary benefits of music.
A decade ago, the Conservatory had nearly been muted. “The place was going under, going bankrupt,” says Executive Director Eric Tillich. “We’ve been able to balance the budget for eight straight years” through creating more opportunity for private lessons and building the endowment and strategic fundraising. With a faculty of 82 parttime and seven fulltime instructors, the Conservatory is among the largest employers of musicians in Wisconsin. And the mission has expanded well beyond the Conservatory walls to encompass and enhance the lives of countless Milwaukeeans who benefit from its outreach.
The Conservatory celebrated its 125th anniversary earlier this year and has operated since 1932 from its present location, the former mansion once owned by a music-loving industrialist from J.I. Case at 1584 N. Prospect Ave. With its graceful stairwell, stained glass and ornamental plaster, the building provides an uplifting setting as notes played on piano or cello waft from rehearsal rooms. “The experience of walking into the building and hearing other students making music, knowing you are part of a community, can serve as an inspiration for students,” says John Bragle, senior director of education.
But that setting is merely the central hub for a network that extends across the city to include programs in MPS, choice and charter schools, community organizations and two suburban satellite centers. The Conservatory has community partnerships at more than 50 sites currently, 10 of which are early childhood learning centers where musical instruction is provided using the SmartStart curriculum.
Taking the Lead
Although the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music has a lower national profile than Berklee or Julliard, it has long been recognized an innovator. The jazz classes begun in the ‘70s by Milwaukee legends Berkely Fudge and Manty Ellis led to the first accredited jazz program in the U.S. The Conservatory was also first in the U.S. to adopt Smart Start for children four and under, a program devised by Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
Bragle explains that the Royal Conservatory conducted a long-range study of how music effects neurological development and learning in young children. “Our Smart Start classes strike a balance between meaningful engagement with music as an art form and functioning to support early language skills. Parents sing with their children, swaying and rocking with the musical beat and the changing tempo.”
Parents are taught to keep singing and swaying with their kids at home. Tillich adds that “we want to make it accessible in every Milwaukee Zip code” through partnerships with Next Door Foundation, Sojourner Truth House and other community groups.
“I’m making it my goal to change the landscape of how schools open their doors to music education,” says Tillich. “Music is an easy place where people can make a joyful impact on Milwaukee and change people’s lives in ways that other things can’t.” Hope remains that schools will one day be able to resume their traditional arts education. “I’ve told MPS: My best day is when you come to us and say, ‘We don’t need you to teach our kids anymore.’ I know that the Conservatory would pivot to serving children in different ways.”
Music for Everyone
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Violin Student - Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
A violin student learns at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Bragle describes the Conservatory as a “community music school” modelled in part from settlement schools of the late 19th century whose mission included “ensuring that music was not accessible only to the elite.” He adds that the Conservatory is “one of the few organizations that has a budget item for financial aid before we raise money. We set a goal of providing financial assistance for all children to pursue their dreams. We don’t just have a mission but structures in play to enact that mission.”
In 2019, the Conservatory began thinking about virtual learning. When Covid struck in 2020, they continued instruction without missing a beat. Tillich and Bragle concede that in-person musical instruction is preferable for most students—post-pandemic, 95 percent of teaching is in person, but they cite the example of an injured veteran challenged by driving to one of the Conservatory’s facilities. Virtual learning is just another way of reaching more people.
As for the instruction available within the Conservatory’s walls, they can’t promise to offer everything, but they come close. “We have a faculty with a wide range of interests, proficiency and experience,” Bragle says. We try to make music accessible for everyone. We have one accordion student—we’re not the Wisconsin Conservatory of Polka but we have a faculty member who can play the instrument. We teach ukulele. We teach songwriting. If we can’t do it, we have no problem making recommendations for where a student can go.”
