Madison Conservatory provides classical training in piano and stringed instruments.
Studying classical music is linked to positive outcomes, including higher grades and higher levels of civic engagement. But those benefits historically have been out of reach for children of color as well as children with disabilities and those from lower-income families.
The Madison Conservatory aims to democratize access to musical education by providing free classical training in piano and stringed instruments to students in the Madison area.
Co-founded in 2019 by Melanie de Jesus and three other faculty members, the nonprofit organization, with an on-site staff of four, is located on Paterson Street on Madison’s near east side. De Jesus says the centralized location is vital to the organization’s success as it’s right on several bus lines and many of her students use mass transit. The group holds most of its concerts at nearby churches.
De Jesus, who teaches violin and viola at the Conservatory and has been a coach at the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras for about 14 years, says that when she started teaching privately in Madison she saw too many students who lacked adequate resources and support in their musical endeavors.
“That’s what led to the development of this project,” she says. “I stopped teaching in my private capacity and teach almost exclusively for the Conservatory because our mission requires that depth of commitment.”
The Conservatory, which has an annual budget of roughly $60,000-$80,000, is funded mostly through individual contributions. “Our alums and their families who have the capacity to donate are pretty generous, and so are other private individuals in the community,” de Jesus says. “We get some smaller arts grants funding from the county and from a few small foundations in Wisconsin.”
All of the funding goes toward providing lessons, instruments and sheet music, as well as helping students with registration fees for competitions, auditions, and participation in other arts organizations like the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
The Conservatory accepts as many students as it can, and there is no audition process, de Jesus says. Applications are completed via a Google form. The Conservatory is currently at capacity at 50 students.
De Jesus says this year’s Conservatory students range in age from 3 to 75, but most are K-12 students. She says her graduating seniors going into a college band or orchestra receive on average $35,000 in scholarships, even if their major isn’t music.
Co-founder Melanie de Jesus.
“My alums who are doing music as a career are doing awesome. But it also helps students develop creativity and passion — all those skills that are necessary to be successful in any profession,” de Jesus says.
De Jesus has sent several of her students off to prestigious musical education programs across the country, including the Peabody Conservatory, the Cleveland Conservatory, the San Francisco Conservatory, the New England Conservatory and Oberlin College. Two students are also at her alma mater: the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
De Jesus says raising funds can be a challenge, but she and her fellow teachers are committed to bringing the benefits of studying music to people who might otherwise miss out.
“All of the teachers are trying to provide as much benefit to our students and to the world as possible,” she says. “Kids need to know that someone is rooting for them.”
This article is part of The Nonprofit Issue, the special November 2024 print edition of Isthmus. See the other stories here.
