A historic downtown Milwaukee home that once served as housing for Milwaukee School of Engineering students is now a place for the growing number of avid musicians at the school to practice, gather and rehearse.
MSOE first announced in February that it purchased the 135-year-old structure at 308 E. Juneau Ave., with plans to turn it into the Patricia E. Kern Conservatory of Music.
This week, the college opened the new facility to the public.
“The Patricia E. Kern Conservatory of Music will be home to MSOE’s music programs, giving students ample space to pursue their musical passion, cultivate their creativity, and rehearse with their peers,” said MSOE president John Walz, Ph.D. in February. “We are grateful for the support of our university community in making this dream a reality for our students, particularly our alumni and friends who have made this beautiful new student-focused space possible.”
On Monday, Walz was among the dozens of staff and students at the engineering school touring the new building while student musicians played everything from trombones to the electric guitar within its 10 practice rooms.
In the band
Although MSOE does not have music majors per se, it does have several music ensembles like the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, String Orchestra, Concert Choir, Pep Band and Jazz Combo.
Music programs are academic and non-academic opportunities, meaning students participating in some of the ensembles can receive credit toward their graduation, said Alexa Deacon, director of campus life for MSOE.
“Students have been asking for this for some time. Music programs started about seven or eight years ago, and since those programs started, student musicians have consistently been asking for a place to practice and rehearse,” Deacon said.
Matthew Timm, an industrial engineering student at MSOE, is a member of six of the seven music programs. He plays piano, tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet. He also sings.
“I would never have expected a place to like this to exist at MSOE, and I am very glad this has been made possible,” he said.
According to city property records, MSOE purchased the 4,412-square-foot residential building in December 2021 for $600,300. Constructed in 1888, the nine-bedroom, three-bathroom property had most recently served as a triplex and the last owners were U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman and his wife Elizabeth Adelman.
Patricia E. Kern, who was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from MSOE in 2000, co-founded the Kern Family Foundation in 1998 with her husband Robert Kern after they sold Town of Genesee-based Generac Power Systems, which they founded in 1959. She supported several organizations, including MSOE and Project Lead The Way. The Kern Center on campus is also named in her honor.
“Pat and Bob Kern were devoted supporters of MSOE and its students,” said Walz in a February press release. “Pat had a love for singing and music and a passion for paying it forward, so it is fitting that the new dedicated space for music at MSOE be named in her honor.”
