Opening the Doors Wider: Renewing Our Commitment to Access
At MacPhail Center for Music, we believe music should be accessible to everyone. Now, thanks to an extraordinary $1.5 million donation from longtime supporters Ken and Janet Talle, we are beginning a new era in our commitment to remove barriers and open our doors wider for all students.
Access is at the heart of MacPhail’s identity as a community music school. While this focus resonates through all aspects of our work, from relevant and inclusive programming to welcoming physical spaces, lowering financial barriers to music education is foundational.
“As we look across our community, we see inequity in opportunities to study music,” says CEO Paul Babcock. “Music is a powerful educational resource, and financial access is one of the first barriers that you have to be able to overcome.”
As the cost of living rises, so does the number of families who need support to pay for music education. “Financial aid applications just keep going up,” says Melissa Falb, Director of Program Operations. “People really want to be able to study music, but there aren’t the same opportunities for free music education that there used to be. Financial aid is crucial right now.”
Because of the transformative donation to the Access Fund, we’ve been able to expand aid eligibility and help more families than ever before. Families now qualify for tuition assistance at income levels that are $15,000 higher than before. So far this year, we’ve provided 75% tuition reductions to 55% more students than last year.
“We are so grateful for MacPhail’s financial aid program,” says a mom whose three children receive tuition assistance for their lessons. “Our kids tell us every day how much they love music, and we are so thankful that they are receiving such a precious, lifelong gift.”
In addition to offering more financial aid to more families, we’ve simplified the financial aid application to make the process faster, easier, and more equitable. “We want people who want to study music to be able to do it — that’s the end goal,” says Melissa. “Anything we can do to remove barriers, we want to do.”
This is only the beginning. “Thanks to the support of our generous donors, we opened the door further,” Paul says. “Now we need to keep it open.”
To ensure no student is turned away due to financial circumstances, we need your partnership and support, too. Your gift to MacPhail’s Access Fund will open the doors of music education for students today and for generations to come. To learn more about how to support the Access Fund, reach out to Kristina Sorum, Philanthropy Officer, at [email protected] or call 612-767-5347.