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Conservatory of Performing Arts

Friends of the Conservatory

Contact:

confrnds@bw.edu

Friends of the Conservatory supports the students and programs of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Performing Arts through monetary donations, gifts in kind, and volunteer assistance. Founded in 1963, Friends of the Conservatory was originally known as the Conservatory Women's Committee. Membership is open to anyone who has a passion for the arts and music. Current members include BW alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and members of the Berea and surrounding communities.

All are welcome to join or make a donation >

Our Impact

Here are just a few of the many contributions we have made over the past 50 years:

  • Awarded over $75,000 in scholarships to outstanding students
  • Remodeled and purchased furniture for the Gamble Auditorium green room and dressing rooms
  • Purchased many specialty instruments for students
  • Purchased a Steinway Boston upright piano
  • Assisted in the purchase of a Continuo Organ
  • Currently in the second year of a three-year pledge to purchase a Vanderbilt 23 Natural SN Harp
  • Purchased a collection of DVDs to establish the Conservatory's Music-in-Film Library
  • Assisted students studying abroad
  • Donated monetarily to the annual Bach Festival

Leah Frank

Leah Frank '16
B.A. in keyboard performance and strings performance

"The Friends of the Conservatory scholarship provided me with the opportunity to take additional lessons which aided in my subsequent success with the Baldwin Wallace concerto competition. More importantly, the scholarship helped raise confidence in my abilities as a Conservatory student, through my private instructor who nominated me, to the women's committee who confirmed me."

John McColley

John McColley
Harp performance and music history double major

"Harps are expensive and hard for students to purchase on their own, so when we had three incoming harpists last year and only two school harps, the Friends of the Conservatory helped BW secure another fabulous harp. This is the same harp that most professionals and orchestras use. It is such a gift to be able to play on such a magnificent instrument, and I have grown by leaps and bounds."

Camilia Yoder

Camilla Yoder
Woodwinds performance major

Camilla Yoder received the Friends of the Conservatory Outstanding Sophomore Award in April 2016. A recent finalist in BW's concerto competition, she spent her summer performing at the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland as well as for the Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster, Pa. "I certainly appreciate this award in recognition of my work to date and in support of my future work," says Yoder.