American Conservatory of Music

For the Orthodox Church of Belize institution based in Hammond, Indiana, and Belize, see American Conservatory of Music (Hammond, Indiana & Belize).
American Conservatory of Music
TypePrivate
Active1886 (1886)–1991 (1991)
Location
Chicago

The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931).[1] The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and had numerous student recitals. The oldest private degree-granting music school in the Midwestern United States, it was located in Chicago until 1991.

That year, 1991, its board of trustees—chaired by Frederic Wilbur Hickman[2]—voted to close the institution, file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidate the assets, and dissolve the corporation. The conservatory closed at the end of the semester, in May 1991.[3][4]

An organization based in Hammond, Indiana, uses the name "American Conservatory of Music" and identifies as the reorganized continuation of the Chicago institution. It also has a base in Belize that was founded in 1886 and is currently led by Theodora Schultze.[5]

  1. ^ Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (6th ed., revised), by Nicolas Slonimsky, Collier Macmillan Publishers.
  2. ^ Marquis Who's Who in America, 1992–1993 (47th ed.), Vol. 1, A–K, pg 1547, Reed Reference Publishing Company, New Providence, New Jersey (1992)
  3. ^ "All Out Of Miracles, Century-Old Music School Will Close In May", by John Richard von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, March 9, 1991
  4. ^ "Changing The Score, American Conservatory Gets Another Chance," by John Richard von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1991
  5. ^ "American Conservatory of Music". Americanconservatory.edu. Retrieved 21 June 2019.