Welcome to the Northwestern Music Academy!
Welcome to the Northwestern Music Academy of the Bienen School of Music. For over a century, the community music division of the Bienen School has provided lessons to all who wish to experience the gift of music. Students of every age and level receive individualized and quality instruction through our pre-college and adult programs.
Whether you desire to be a professional musician or a life-long patron of music, our well-rounded curriculum is designed to instill a solid foundation of music education for life. We offer private and group lessons in piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, and Kindermusik, with facilities at the historic home of 1818 Hinman and in the world-class Ryan Center for the Musical Arts. Those who take lessons at the Academy experience excellence in a warm and caring environment. We invite you to be a part of our Music Academy family!
For more information on our program, we invite you to explore our Kindermusik, Piano, and Strings webpages.
If you visiting this page and simply wish to support our Academy programs or families in need of financial aid, we invite you to Make a Gift. Select “Search School and Program Funds” and check the box for Northwestern Music Academy (pre-college). Your contribution helps make music lessons possible for those who would otherwise not be able to afford them.
Sincerely,
Susan Osborn
Director, Northwestern Music Academy
musicacademy@northwestern.edu
Michael Pecak, currently a Senior Associate at JPMorganChase in the Consumer Banking Division, has a long and wonderful history with the Northwestern Music Academy, both as a student and as a teacher. In high school, Michael was a student of Dr. Mary Beth Molenaar. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, a Master’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington where he studied with Andre Watts, and a DMA in Historical Performance Practices from McGill University. A Fulbright Scholarship enabled Michael to spend a year at the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland, and, as a Graduate Fellow at Cornell University, Michael worked with renowned historical fortepianist Malcolm Bilson. After many years of advanced studies and international performances, Michael returned to the Academy as a piano instructor, teaching there from 2017 to 2023. In addition to his performance endeavors as a (forte)pianist, Michael is also an accomplished conductor, having worked with leading American opera companies including Florida Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Saratoga, and Chicago Opera Theater. Michael is an active collaborator, particularly with his wife soprano Hannah De Priest, and has published scholarly articles on the music of Beethoven, Kalkbrenner, and Chopin. Recently, Michael stepped into another passion - the world of finance, which ultimately led him to his position at JPMorganChase. He earned an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago and has worked as a registered Municipal Financial Advisor. For Michael, music and numbers go hand-in-hand, and he loves how one can creatively inform the other.