Milwaukee Children’s Choir merging with Wisconsin Conservatory of Music

Eight-year-old Camila Reyes had never played a musical instrument in any formal way before coming to Music Exploration Camp in Milwaukee in June.

Very quickly, Camila was exploring the sounds she could make playing the ukulele, drums and piano.

“It felt good, trying something new. Also a little scary at first, but then when I came to camp, I felt better about it,” she said.

Camila was one of 40 campers ages 7 through 13 who attended the week-long camp at the end of June put on by the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin’s largest and oldest community music school. The campers explored musical instruments of all kinds, including the oldest one of all — the voice.

This spring, the conservatory merged with Milwaukee Children’s Choir, a move organizers say will expand musical opportunities for children.

All the families associated with the Children’s Choir, about 90 students, were invited to join the conservatory, which will soon open enrollment for its own children’s choir.

The vision is still taking shape, but the goal is to reach more students and potentially double the size of the choir in the coming years.

According to staff at the conservatory, the Milwaukee Children’s Choir had been struggling financially while the conservatory was on “great financial footing” so the merger seemed like a natural course of action to those in charge.  

Eric Tillich, president and CEO of the conservatory, said the merger fit with its updated mission to make music accessible to all.

“Part of the beauty of a children’s choir is it leads to opening up a lot of doors for kids to participate in music. Because every kid has a voice,” Tillich said.

The conservatory is making efforts to expand its financial aid program which Tillich expects will increase the number of children able to participate.

“Singing is unique in that it’s the instrument we all have. You don’t have to rent it, you don’t have to purchase it. That makes it more accessible to kids,” said John Bragle, senior director of education for the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.

Bragle said the merger will allow more children to discover their passion like the children did at Music Exploration Camp.

“There are the eyes of some of these kids that absolutely light up. Some of them are surprised by that because they never considered themselves musical,” Bragle said.

Nine-year-old Stella McCabe had a similar moment of awe at camp. She had previous musical experience, but the camp was a new way for her to explore. She particularly liked practicing Yonder Come Day, a song based on the traditional Georgia Sea Islands spiritual and arranged by Judith Cook Tucker, for its catchy tune.

“It just reminds me of sunshine,” Stella said.  

Music lessons and choir practice coalesced at the end of the week when the campers put on a performance for their friends and family. When Camila’s group was called on to play the drums, she sat toward the center of the semi-circle, concentrating hard while she played the music.

On the way back to her seat, she high-fived her mom, Veronica Reyes, who was sitting in the front row.

“She’s a little bit more on the shy side,” Reyes said. “That brought her out (of her shell) a little bit more. It was nice to see that she was willing to participate.”

Camila said it took courage to sing in front of strangers. But now, she wants her mom to sign her up to sing in another choir.

“This camp taught me to be more braver, to sing in front of, like, a bigger crowd than I usually do and also inspired me to play more instruments,” Camila said.