The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mills District of Downtown East,

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, the school has over 16,000 students, providing instruction at more than 130 locations outside of its downtown Minneapolis facility on more than 35 instruments and in a variety of musical styles. MacPhail is registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities access to inspiring and enduring music learning experiences through extraordinary faculty, relevant programming and integrated learning technology to create successful outcomes

History

In 1907, William S. MacPhail, an original member of the Minneapolis Symphony (now the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

), established the MacPhail School of Violin in Minneapolis. The school expanded its offerings and became the MacPhail School of Music and Dramatic Art. In need of more space, the school moved into 1128 LaSalle, a four-story building in downtown Minneapolis that, in order to meet the needs of a skeptical investor, could be easily converted into a retail/office space should the school fail. The building allowed the school to expand and offer conservatory education with college degrees, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

helped the school increase enrollment and offerings even further. By the time of its founder's death in 1962, the school had a faculty of more than 100 and a student body of more than 3,000. In 1966, the MacPhail family gave the MacPhail College of Music to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, which changed the name to the MacPhail Center for the Performing Arts. The school became part of the university's extension program and the emphasis shifted from conservatory instruction to community education. During its time with the university, the school began trying new methods of teaching young children, and in the late 1960s introduced one of the first

Suzuki method The Suzuki method is a music curriculum and teaching philosophy dating from the mid-20th century, created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998). The method aims to create an environment for learning music which para ...

programs in the nation. In 1987, the University of Minnesota announced it would dissolve relationships with institutions that did not primarily serve college students, and in 1994 the MacPhail Center for the Performing Arts again became a private, nonprofit school. In 2003, the organization changed its name to the MacPhail Center for Music. The new facility on the Minneapolis riverfront was designed by James Dayton, who studied and worked with

Gehry Partners Frank Owen Gehry, , Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of List of works by Frank Gehry, his buildings, including Gehry Residence, his private residence i ...

MacPhail today

MacPhail currently serves over 16,000 music students and music therapy clients ranging in age from 6 weeks to over 100 years old. Beginning in the fall of 2006, MacPhail began offering its registration-based programming in Apple Valley at Paideia Academy and continued its expansion by opening a site at Birch Lake School in White Bear Lake in the fall of 2007. In January 2008, a new flagship facility opened in downtown Minneapolis. In January 2014, MacPhail opened its next access site in

Chanhassen Chanhassen is a city about southwest of Minneapolis in Carver County and partially in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The southwest edge of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs, there is a mix of residential neighborhoods and rural ...

and began offering individual lessons at the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley in January 2015. MacPhail offers the following programs: * Individual Lessons (ages 5 – adult) * Sing Play Learn with MacPhail (students ages 6 weeks – 8 years) * Suzuki Talent Education (aka:

) (ages 3 – 18) * Classes (students ages 5 – adult) * Ensembles (students ages 5 – adult) *

Music Therapy Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...

(all ages) * Community Partnerships (all ages) * Online Lessons (ages 5 – adult) * Summer camps (ages 3 – adult)

Notable people

Notable alumni

Gretchen Carlson Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson (born June 21, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. Carlson appeared as the host of numerous television programs, most notably on the Saturday edition of ''The Early Show'' on ...

Lon Clark Lon Clark (January 12, 1912 – October 2, 1998) was a New York City actor of Theatre, stage and Audio theatre, radio. Clark was born in Frost, Minnesota. As a youth in Minnesota, Clark studied at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. ...

Pete Docter Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and chief creative officer of Pixar. He is best known for directing the Pixar animated feature films ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001) ...

* David King *Jon Li *

Chan Poling Chandler Hall "Chan" Poling (born October 3, 1957) is an American musician and composer. Early life and education Chandler Hall Poling was born in 1957 in Evanston, Illinois. He moved to Minnesota with his family in 1961. He studied composition a ...

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Ellen Ross; October 25, 1928) is a American former actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom ''Happy Days'', on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and for which she receive ...

* James Sample *

Palbasha Siddique Palbasha Siddique ( bn, পলবাশা সিদ্দিক) (born January 3, 1991) is a Bangladeshi born American singer. She is best known for her performance of ''Praan'', a song adapted from the collection of poems ''Gitanjali'' by Rab ...

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

Lynn Freeman Olson Lynn Freeman Olson (June 5, 1938 – November 18, 1987) was an American composer. His music is used primarily for teaching the piano to youngsters. He was a popular presenter at workshops for piano teachers. He composed some music for radio and te ...

Joan Kroc Joan Beverly Kroc ( Mansfield, previously Smith; August 27, 1928 – October 12, 2003), also known as Joni, was an American philanthropist and third wife of McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc. Early life Joan Beverly Mansfield was born on August 27, 19 ...

Vincent Kartheiser Vincent Paul Kartheiser (born May 5, 1979) is an American actor. He played Pete Campbell on the AMC television series ''Mad Men'', for which he received six Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a ...

* Norman J. Larson

Notable faculty

Wilma Anderson Gilman Wilma Anderson Gilman (, Anderson; July 9, 1881 – September 12, 1971) was an American concert pianist, music teacher, and clubwoman. After making her debut in Brussels, she appeared in concerts in 34 U.S. states. Gilman was the first Minnesota m ...

References

External links

MacPhail Center for Music website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail Center For Music Educational institutions established in 1907 Music schools in Minnesota Private schools in Minnesota Education in Minneapolis 1907 establishments in Minnesota