The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music is part of the Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea, Ohio. The main building is Kulas Hall. The Conservatory is home to the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in the United States. The Music Theatre program, directed by Victoria Bussert, draws hundreds of auditioners each year. The instrumental programs have produced musicians; several BW alumni presently play with the Cleveland Orchestra.
History
Today's Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music was established during the Baldwin Institute's existence. At the time, the undergraduate-only conservatory was founded in 1898 by Dr. Albert Riemenschneider. Before this time, music classes were offered at the Baldwin Institute for one dollar extra per term. In 1912, land donated by the citizens of Berea was used to expand the institution and improve the facilities for music. The Kulas Musical Arts Building was constructed, housing a $25,000 pipe organ.
In 1975 the Conservatory expanded into an adjacent residence hall (Merner-Pfeiffer Hall) and later an enclosed bridge was constructed connecting the two buildings. In 2009, the Berea First Congregational Church became part of the college. Then in 2011 an expansion was done to connect the Kulas Musical Arts Building with the Berea First Congregational Church.
The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music is home to the BW Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach festival in the nation, as well as the second-oldest Bach festival in the nation. The festival was founded in 1932 by Professor Albert Riemenschneider (longtime Director of the College Conservatory) and his wife, Selma. The then Baldwin-Wallace Festival Choir and Orchestra presented the first Bach Festival in June 1933 and has continued on an annual basis ever since.
In 2007, the nation's oldest Bach Festival, The Bethlehem, and Baldwin Wallace performed together for BW's 75th anniversary of the festival. These two groups have worked together to celebrate the milestones of their festivals. The Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) choir was founded in 1898 by J. Fred Wolle. Riemenschneider, founder of the BW festival, was inspired by a 1931 trip to the Bethlehem Bach Festival. In 2012, internationally heiled Bach scholar Ton Koopman worked with the Conservatory's Motet choir.
Facilities
The main conservatory buildings include Kulas Musical Arts Building, Merner-Pfeiffer Hall and Boesel Musical Arts Center. The Boesel Musical Arts Center opened in 2011. In the Conservatory's beginnings, Kulas Musical Arts Building was the sole home of the music students, with Merner-Pfeiffer Hall being a very close dormitory in proximity. Eventually, Merner-Pfeiffer was renovated and became a part of the Conservatory buildings. Kohler Hall, a nearby building, houses many conservatory students. Having outgrown its existing facilities in the early 2000s, the Conservatory embarked on a second expansion and renovation project, and in August 2008 acquired the adjacent First Congregational United Church of Christ building. This building was renovated to house conservatory programs and attached to Merner-Pfeiffer Hall via a new connecting structure. The connecting structure and what used to be the United Church of Christ were named Boesel Musical Arts Center.
The Ferne Patterson Jones Music Library is located in the basement of Merner-Pfeiffer Hall. The library contains nearly 40,000 items, including approximately 13,000 volumes of printed music.
The Riemenschneider Bach Institute, located in the Boesel Musical Arts Center, holds a priceless collection of rare materials related to J. S. Bach and his circle. The Riemenschneider Bach Library, a unique collection of Bach-oriented books, manuscripts, archival materials, and scores, includes rare items such as the Emmy Martin Collection of first-edition scores; the Riemenschneider Graduate Library Collection; the Hans T. David Collection of books, manuscripts, archival items, and scores (including a number of first-edition scores); the opera-oriented Tom Villella collection of phonodiscs, books, archival materials, and memorabilia and the Albert and Helen Borowitz Recording Collection (2007). The library also holds a collection of Cleveland Orchestra programs (1902-1974). Currently, the total Bach Institute "volume count" exceeds the 20,000 mark.
The institute also publishes BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, a scholarly journal, and serves as the research arm of the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival.