American Conservatory of Music

2 months ago Robert Benson

I graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in 1977, and studied there with Verna Trine, Stella Roberts, Jack Goode, David Austin, Dr. Dean Kincaid, James Dutton, Dr. Russell Harvey, and many others. At that time, the school had very strong piano, voice and theory departments. I graduated as a theory major. The theory department was their best department, and was recognized on a national level. The school would still be in operation today if it had not been for the sad changes Charles Moore made to the curriculum. He, along with one "Miss Jurko" decided that they would throw out most of the excellent and perfected courses which had been taught for over one hundred years, and switch the emphasis to teaching rock and jazz. Of course, you do not teach rock; that's something that players pick up and develop from other rock players. ACM did have a very good professional jazz teacher by the name of Willie Pickens. They should have simply kept him. After these curriculum changes were made, all of the professional and competent instructors resigned from the faculty (more than one hundred, I believe). Then, at one point, Mr. Charles Moore decided that the ACM needed to go on a tour to recruit new students. Where did Mr. Moore, plus his main squeeze young man and about a dozen others go on their tour to recruit new students? Not to neighboring states, and not even anywhere in the USA.They spent a fortune of the school's money taking the group on an all expenses paid trip to the People's Republic of China! Is it any wonder that the school went bankrupt shortly after that trip? It has already been going down because of the loss of faculty and curriculum changes. The trip was just another nail in the coffin. The mistake President Leo Heim made of making Charles Moore the new president was a grave one. That's too bad, because Mr. Heim was always a respected and competent leader of the ACM. Sometime around 1994 I went over the what was left of the school in the Stevens Building. Being curious after having read a Chicago Tribune article on how Richard Shultz had been in legal trouble in several states, I wanted to know what on earth was happening. I met Richard Schultz and his wife Theodora. Shultz explained to me how he was milking money out of what was left of the student base,which was almost all sons and daughters of wealthy Koreans. Several Koreans had graduated from the ACM, and Shultz explained to me that those graduates went back to Korea, and continued to extoll the virtues of an ACM education, which kept a number of new Korean students coming in for several years. I could see that, although their then current catalogue listed some 30 teachers on the faculty, I learned from one Marvin Ziporyn, who was acting as Dean, that there were actually only 5 teachers on the staff; Richard, Theodora and Otto Schultz, Marvin Zyporin, and a young black jazz instructor to whom I was introduced but whose name I do not remember. I then realized what a terrible thing it was which happened to ACM. I found out that the organization "Friends of the American Conservatory" was trying to get him shut down, as he was running a scam - pretending that the school he headed was actually the American Conservatory of Music. Now, I understand that although they were legally driven out of Illinois, they re-opened in Indiana under a beauty school license. Take a good look at their website, and you'll realize that the present day "school" is being run by a few persons - a mom and pop operation masquerading as the once great institution it once was. Very sad.

over 1 year ago Daniel J. Rolf

I graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in 1968 with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Applied Piano. This school was located on Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL. What has happened to this school?

almost 2 years ago Peter B.
monkbooboo ((at)) gmail dot com

The school offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral courses, but it lacks accreditation by either the National Association of Schools of Music[1] or the Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education. Their doctor degrees are worthless. Chicago Sun-Times reported, "The Illinois attorney general sued Thursday to oust Richard Schulze from control of Chicago's once-respected American Conservatory of Music, citing Schulze's record in commodities fraud cases in which investors lost millions of dollars. Schulze took over the conservatory in 1993 under the aegis of a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation named Friends of the Conservatory. Schulze made himself chairman, his wife Theodora president and their son Otto secretary. They also have been serving as virtually the only full-time faculty members of the conservatory, which, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, has been operating illegally in awarding bachelor's, master's and doctoral courses...." (February 2, 1996 by RAYMOND R. COFFEY)

almost 2 years ago Dr. Leon Whitesell, DMA

The American Conservatory of Music is blessed with outstanding leadership and faculty. I received my Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from AMC in 2007, under the guidance of Dr. Paul Jordan, eminent scholar, organist, composer, and conductor. Every part of degree work was pertinent snd expert. I endorse the American Conservatory of Music heartily and completely! Gratefully, Dr. Leon Whitesell, DMA - 2007