The Future Starts with you!
Founded in 1931, the Music Institute of Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community music school that leads people toward a lifelong engagement with music by providing widely accessible resources for high quality music teaching, performing, and service activities.
Your generous tax-deductible gift helps empower people of every age and ability to listen, communicate, express, and connect through music and fuels the transformative power of music to educate, inspire, and strengthen communities.
Who We Are
Since the Music Institute of Chicago's founding over 90 years ago, MIC has served as an important community resource and helps to ensure music is available to everyone. Each year, the Music Institute provides personalized music instruction to more than 1,500 students, regardless of age, level of experience, or financial means, across eight Community Music School locations.
In addition to lessons, classes and ensembles, the Music Institute brings music education, master classes and special initiatives like One Composer, One Community to student across the Chicago area and offers scholarship opportunities to students in its Community School as well as its Academy, a nationally recognized, pre-college conservatory training center for highly gifted pianists and string players.
Renowned for its world-class faculty, innovative teaching approach, and a fundamental drive to ensure access to excellent music education and performance, MIC serves students in 92 Illinois communities, 24 states, and 5 countries annually at campuses and online in Chicago, Evanston, Downers Grove, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Wheaton, and Winnetka.
A World-Class Performance Space
In addition to providing the highest level of teaching and community engagement, the Music Institute of Chicago's Nichols Concert Hall, located at 1490 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, is a state-of-the-art, 550-seat performance space and music education destination, easily accessible to numerous restaurants, on-street and metered parking, and the Davis Street CTA and Metra stations. Each year Nichols Concert Hall reaches approximately 15,000 people through world-class chamber music performances, workshops, master classes, student recitals, and special events.
Who We Become
Music Institute of Chicago alumni are all around us. Your gift helps to empowers not only the next generation of musicians, but young professionals across a wide variety of professional disciplines. Together, we foster creativity, cultivate talent, and inspire lifelong engagement with music.
I started classical piano lessons when I was four. I love classical music and it’s a huge inspiration to everything I do now.
A musical powerhouse at just 23, Emily Bear is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer, producer, arranger, pianist, and singer-songwriter.
"The Music Institute gave me a wonderful excuse to play with and meet a lot of incredible young musicians that I ended up seeing at conservatory, summer programs and in my every day life today."
Winner of the 2016 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, a career grant awarded to extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians.
Who's Making It Happen
From individual gifts, to corporate and institutional giving, the Music Institute of Chicago relies on your support to help us enrich the lives of thousands each year through music education and performance.
The Music Institute of Chicago collaborates with Chicago-area businesses to develop meaningful, innovative, and mutually beneficial partnerships that maximize our shared impact in the community and achieve extraordinary results. MIC sponsors support a range of core priorities that expand access to music education and experiences—from concerts, programs, and special events to service activities and community engagement initiatives that benefit thousands of individuals each year.
Our customized platform invites you to:
- Elevate your brand and enhance your company’s CSR profile by aligning with one of the top music schools in the country
- Connect with a target audience of dedicated music lovers from around the world
- Create memorable experiences for employees, customers, and clients
- Nurture the next generation of musical talent
You're Invited! Music Institute of Chicago Annual Gala
Thank you for your support!
Your generosity makes a difference. By donating, you help provide exceptional music education to students of all ages and backgrounds, support scholarships, and ensure a thriving future for classical music. Every gift, big or small, empowers the next generation of musicians and together, we will foster creativity, cultivate talent, and inspire lifelong learning and musical engagement.
Donate
Your generosity makes a difference at the Music Institute of Chicago. By donating, you help provide exceptional music education to students of all ages and backgrounds, support scholarships, and ensure a thriving future for classical music. Together, we foster creativity, cultivate talent, and inspire a lifelong engagement with music. DONATE NOW »
Enroll
We teach students of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds, helping them to achieve their musical aspirations. Learn more about private instruction, group classes, and performance opportunities here. ENROLL »
Explore
Explore the accomplishments of MIC alumni, witness the successes of our current students, and learn more about the impact MIC has in its communities. EXPLORE »
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