Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a Private school, private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois, Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frankli ...

History

Founding

Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution has endured without interruption for years. Ziegfeld was the father of Florenz Jr., the Broadway impresario. The Academy was credited as being the fourth conservatory in America. In 1871, the conservatory moved to a new building which was destroyed only a few weeks later by the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

; despite the

conflagration A conflagration is a large fire. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A conflagration can begin accidentally, be naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). A very large fire can produc ...

, the college was again up and running by the end of the year.

Name change

In 1872, the school changed its name to Chicago Musical College (CMC); over 900 students were enrolled in that year. A Normal Teachers' Institute was added to the school's offerings. Tuition in those was an average of one dollar per lesson. Four years later, the State of Illinois accredited the college as a degree granting institution of higher learning. A Preparatory Division was opened which established branches throughout the city. Rudolph Ganz joined CMC's faculty in 1900 and, except for a brief hiatus in the 1920s, remained associated with the school until his death in 1972. In 1917, CMC offered a Master of Music Degree, and seven years later the school became a charter member of the National Association of Schools of Music. By 1925, the college moved into its own eleven-story building,

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

at 64 E. Van Buren Street. One hundred and twenty-five names appeared on the faculty roster for that year, and the school opened three dormitory floors for students. In 1936, CMC was admitted as a full member to the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the only independent music college in the Midwest to enjoy such status. By 1947, the college was offering doctorates in Fine Arts and Music Education.

Merger with Roosevelt University

In 1954, CMC merged with

's School of Music which had been founded in 1945. The name "Chicago Musical College" was retained for the new united college. All operations moved to join the university in the now national landmark Auditorium Building at 430 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Loop. The building houses one of the finest auditoriums in the world, in addition to the Rudolph Ganz Memorial Recital Hall.

Reorganization as a conservatory

In the fall of 1997, Roosevelt established a College of Performing Arts, which joined Chicago Musical College and the Theater Program under one administrative unit led by founding dean Donald Steven. In 2000, under the leadership of new dean James Gandre, the name was changed to Chicago College of Performing Arts. The college has two divisions: the Music Conservatory and the Theatre Conservatory.

Notable students and faculty

Alumni

Filip Mitrovic Filip Mitrovic a.k.a. The Elkcloner is a Serbian-American composer and producer from Los Angeles, California. In 2012, he was nominated for Daytime Emmy Award in the category ''Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a ...

(1979–present), composer *

Grace Angelau Grace Angelau (1899, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - October 1958, Melbourne, Australia) was an American opera singer who had an active international career in operas and operettas in the 1920s, 1930s, and early 1940s. At various times in her career ...

(1899–1958), opera singer * Clarice Assad (1978–present), composer, pianist * Storm Bull (1913–2007), composer, music educator * Steve Coleman (1956), jazz saxophonist, composer *

Florence Cole Talbert Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave (born Florence Cole, June 17, 1890 – April 3, 1961), also known as Madame Florence Cole-Talbert, was an American operatic soprano, music educator, and musician. Called "The First Lady in Grand Opera" by the Nati ...

(1890-1961), opera singer, music educator *

Theodore C. Diers Theodore Carl Diers (December 4, 1880 – December 11, 1942) was an American actor, politician, and writer who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives and Wyoming Senate as a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, (1880-1942) Wyoming state representative and senator * Irene Dunne (1898–1990), film actress *

Walter Dyett Walter Henri Dyett (also known as Captain Walter Henri Dyett; January 11, 1901 – November 17, 1969) was an American violinist and music educator in the Chicago Public Schools system. He served as music director and assistant music director ...

(1901–1969), violinist, music educator * Henry Eichheim (1870–1942) * Vivian Fine (1913–2000), composer * Floyd Graham (1902–1974), violin, music school educator * Frances Wilson Grayson (1890–1927), pioneer woman aviator *

Vernice "Bunky" Green Vernice "Bunky" Green (born April 23, 1935) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator. Biography Green was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played the alto saxophone, mainly at a local club called "The Brass Rail". Green's fir ...

(b.1935), jazz saxophonist, jazz educator * Johnny Hartman (1923-1983), singer * Willis Laurence James (1900–1966), violinist * Harriet Lee, radio singer (1920s–1930s) and Hollywood voice teacher * Ramsey Lewis (1935–2022), jazz pianist, composer *

Lloyd Loar Lloyd Allayre Loar (1886–1943) was an American musician, instrument designer and sound engineer. He is best known for his design work with the Gibson Guitar Corporation, Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in the early 20th century, including t ...

mandolin, violin, viola, singing, composer, acoustics engineer, luthier * Christine McIntyre (1911-1984), actress and soprano * Robert McFerrin (1921–2006), operatic baritone * Ernestine Myers (1900–1991), dancer, dance educator *

Prudence Neff Prudence Maria Neff (June 9, 1887 – December 23, 1949) was an American pianist and music teacher, based in Alabama as a young woman, and in Chicago for the rest of her career. Early life Prudence Neff was born in Nebraska City, Nebraska, an ...

(1887–1949), pianist and music teacher * Florence Price (1887–1953), composer *

Julia Rebeil Julia Marie Rebeil (May 17, 1891 – October 18, 1973) was an American musician and music educator, and a professor at the University of Arizona from 1920 to 1969. Early life Julia Marie Rebeil was born in Tucson, Arizona in 1891, the daughter ...

(1891–1973), pianist, professor at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

* William Revelli (1902–1994), wind ensemble director, educator *

La Julia Rhea La Julia Rhea (March 16, 1898 – July 5, 1992) was an American operatic soprano. Biography Early life and career Rhea was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and began singing publicly at the Hill Street Baptist Church of that city, ...

(1898-1992), opera singer * Silvestre Revueltas (1918-1920) (1922-1924) mexican violinist and composer *

Jim Schwall Jim Schwall (November 12, 1942 – June 19, 2022) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and photographer. He was best known as a co-founder and member of the Siegel-Schwall Band. Musical career Jim Schwall was born in Evanston, Illinoi ...

(b.1942), blues, blues-rock musician, singer/songwriter, Siegel-Schwall Band, Jim Schwall Band * Corky Siegel (b.1943), blues, blues-rock musician, singer, composer, Siegel-Schwall Band * Tracy Silverman, violinist, composer * Frank Skinner (1897–1968) * Eddie South (1904–1962) *

Eileen Southern Eileen Jackson Southern (February 19, 1920 – October 13, 2002) was an American musicologist, researcher, author, and teacher. Southern's research focused on black American musical styles, musicians, and composers; she also published on ear ...

(1920–2002), musicologist * Louise Cooper Spindle (1885-1968), composer *

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became ...

(1905–1994), songwriter *

Jingjing Wang Wang Jingjing ; born 1981 in Hefei, Anhui is a pianist born and raised in China. Biography Wang Jingjing started piano at age 10, and began to make a career of it at age 17. A Piano Performance graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Wa ...

, pianist *

Walter Wenzel Walter Wenzel was an American classical violinist from Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He studied at the Chicago College of Music under Petrowitsch Bissing and Herbert Butler. References

American violinists American male violinists Year ...

, violinist * Allan Arthur Willman (1909–1989) MM 1930, classical pianist, 20th-century composer, music department chairman * Ivah Wills Coburn (d. 1937), stage actress and producer * Aube Tzerko (1909-1995), pianist and mentor, Bachelor's in 1927 from Chicago Musical College under tutelage of Moisseye Boguslawski

Faculty

Petrowitsch Bissing Peter "Petrowitsch" Bissing (1871 in Russia – 30 November 1961 in Wisconsin, United States) was the founder and president of Bissing's Conservatory of Music in Hays, Kansas and later in Topeka. He was known as an instructor of music and specia ...

(1871–1961) * Rudolph Ganz (1877–1972), pianist, composer *

Goldie Golub Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...

(1909-2000), pianist, CMC piano educator for more than 50 years * Louis Gruenberg (1884–1964), composer * Wesley LaViolette, influential early jazz educator (1894–1978) * Fannie B. Linderman (1875-1960), teacher of dramatic arts, entertainer, writer *

Herbert Witherspoon Herbert Witherspoon (July 21, 1873 – May 10, 1935) was an American bass singer and opera manager. Biography He was born on July 21, 1873, in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Yale University in 1895 where he had performed as a member ...

(1873–1935), music history * Carl Valentin Wunderle (1866–1944), violinist

Historic boards of directors and executive staff

1896 directors''Music and Musicians,'' DAily Inter Ocean (Chicago newspaper),'' August 16, 1896, Vol. 25, Issue 145, part 3, pg. 33 * Augustus Eugene Bournique (1842–1926) * William Melancton Hoyt (1837–1926) *

Alexander Hamilton Revell Sr. Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(1858–1931) * The Reverend Hiram Washington Thomas,

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

(1832–1909) * Hon. Richard S. Tuthill (1841–1920) * Carl O. Ziegfeld (1869–1921) * Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld (1841–1923) * William Kimball Ziegfeld (1872–1927) 1896 executive staff * Alfred M. Snydacker (1858–1929), corporate secretary * Carl O. Ziegfeld (1869–1921), business manager * Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld (1841–1923), president * William K. Ziegfeld (1872–1927), associate manager

References

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1867 Music schools in Illinois Roosevelt University 1867 establishments in Illinois