The Midwest Clinic
The Midwest Clinic is a nonprofit organization that produces North America's largest annual instrumental music education conference, serving 18,000+ K-12 music educators, college students, and industry professionals at McCormick Place West in Chicago each December since 1946.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1946
- HeadquartersDes Plaines, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Midwest Clinic does
The Midwest Clinic is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1946 that produces the largest annual instrumental music education conference in North America. Its flagship event, the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, is held each December at McCormick Place West in Chicago, drawing more than 18,000 attendees from all 50 U.S. states and over 40 countries. The organization serves K-12 band and orchestra directors, fine arts administrators, college and university music faculty and students, performing ensembles (including school, community, and military groups), composers, and music industry vendors. The conference offers 100+ clinics, 50+ performances, reading sessions featuring new publications, and rehearsal labs.
The core product is the three-day annual conference, supplemented by an ecosystem of add-on programs: the Jazz PreConference Intensive ($100 for directors), the Reynolds Conducting Institute ($345 per fellow), the Barbara Buehlman Prize for Composition ($3,000 award), College Night (70+ institutions), the Emerging Music Educators Program, and the High School Leadership Institute. Technology is intentionally minimal — standard website, online registration, a conference app, a digital program book, and an Online Education Portal (learning.midwestclinic.org) for CEU-bearing professional development. No proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, or platform development is indicated. The Wind Repertory Project partnership provides a searchable historical archive of works performed since 1970.
Revenue is generated through four primary streams: attendee registration fees (ranging from $25 for K-12 students to $290 for on-site professional registration), exhibitor booth sales (300+ booths, 400+ exhibitors), corporate sponsorships, and ancillary program fees. Graduate college credit is available through a partnership with VanderCook College of Music at $180 per semester hour. The organization is governed by a board largely composed of music educators, conductors, and industry executives, and managed by a small professional staff of 11-50 employees led by Executive Director Kelly Bell. The Midwest Clinic Foundation, a wholly-owned affiliated nonprofit, supports scholarships, commissions, and educational outreach.
The Midwest Clinic firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Midwest Clinic
- Legal name
- Midwest Clinic
- Website
- https://midwestclinic.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1946
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Midwest Clinic is a nonprofit organization that produces North America's largest annual instrumental music education conference, serving 18,000+ K-12 music educators, college students, and industry professionals at McCormick Place West in Chicago each December since 1946.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Midwest Clinic industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Education Conference / Professional Development
- NAICS
- Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD), Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)
Keywords
Where The Midwest Clinic is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Des Plaines
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Midwest Clinic business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Attendee Registration Fees: The primary revenue stream comes from conference registration fees paid by music educators, students, and other attendees. Fees vary by category: Early Bird Professional ($225), Pre-Registration Professional ($255), On-Site Professional ($290), College Student Pre-Registration ($75), Chaperone/Guest ($45), and Primary/Secondary Student ($25).
- Exhibitor Booth Sales: The conference generates significant revenue from exhibitor booth fees. With over 400 exhibitors and 300 booths, vendors pay to showcase music publishers, instrument manufacturers, uniform companies, fundraising organizations, and other music industry products and services.
- Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors pay for various sponsorship tiers to gain visibility among music educators. Sponsors include equipment manufacturers, music publishers, and industry organizations. The Foundation also receives institutional support from organizations like the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
- Pre-Conference Programs: Additional revenue streams include specialized pre-conference intensives (e.g., Jazz PreConference Intensive at $100 for directors, $50 for college students) and the Reynolds Conducting Institute ($345 for conducting fellows).
- College Credit Programs: Graduate college credit is offered through VanderCook College of Music at $180 per semester hour, providing professional development credit for attendees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Early Bird Professional - Limited time discounted rate for professional attendees |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-Registration Professional - Standard rate for professional attendees |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | On-Site Professional Registration - Walk-up rate for professional attendees |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | College Student Pre-Registration - Discounted rate for college students |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | College Student On-Site - Walk-up rate for college students |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Chaperone/Guest - Rate for adult guests and chaperones |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Primary/Secondary Student - Rate for K-12 students |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Jazz PreConference Intensive - Hands-on workshop for jazz educators |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Reynolds Conducting Institute Fellow - Conducting fellowship with full conference access |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Graduate College Credit - Professional development credit through VanderCook |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
The Midwest Clinic product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Midwest Clinic operates an annual three-day international band and orchestra conference at McCormick Place West in Chicago featuring 100+ clinics, 50+ performances by bands and orchestras, rehearsal labs, new music reading sessions, and a 400+ exhibitor trade hall. The organization also delivers pre-conference intensives, conducting institutes, student leadership programs, and an online education portal offering CEUs and graduate college credit in partnership with VanderCook College of Music.
Product overview
The Midwest Clinic is a single annual conference offering—t he 80th Annual Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference—not a software platform. The core offering is a three-day professional development event held at McCormick Place West in Chicago, featuring over 100 clinics, 50 performances, and an exhibit hall with 400+ exhibitors. Supporting add-on programs include the Jazz PreConference Intensive, Reynolds Conducting Institute, Barbara Buehlman Prize for Composition, College Night, the Emerging Music Educators Program, and High School Leadership Institute. Additionally, the organization operates an online education portal (learning.midwestclinic.org) for earning CEUs and partners with VanderCook College of Music to offer graduate credit for conference attendance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Annual Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference Three-day annual professional development conference at McCormick Place West in Chicago, featuring 100+ clinics, 50+ performances by bands and orchestras, rehearsal labs, new music reading sessions, and a 400+ exhibitor trade hall serving 18,000+ music educators and musicians from all 50 U.S. states and 40+ countries.
- Jazz PreConference Intensive Four-hour hands-on workshop for jazz educators held the day before the main conference, covering rehearsal techniques, improvisation, and jazz program development; sponsored by Yamaha Corporation which supplies Silent Bass and rhythm-section backline equipment.
Quantifiable outcome
- 18,000+ attendees annually from all 50 states and 40+ countries
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Midwest Clinic
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Midwest Clinic technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Midwest Clinic partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The Midwest Clinic FoundationcoreThe Foundation empowers instrumental music education by ensuring the continued growth and success of The Midwest Clinic. It provides essential support including scholarships for music educators, funding for exceptional clinicians and performers, support for ensembles from underserved communities, original composition commissions, and distribution of educational materials globally.
- VanderCook College of MusiccoreCo-founder of The Midwest Clinic. Offers graduate college credit (1 semester hour for $180) for conference attendance. Provides special tuition pricing for Midwest Clinic attendees. Participants complete session reports and reflection essays for credit. VanderCook also hosts the conference archive.
- University of MarylandminorHouses The Midwest Clinic archive for historical preservation of conference materials and records.
- NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)corePartnership for the Emerging Music Educators Program and Music Mentors Roundtable. NAMM sponsors EME scholarships and provides access to music industry professionals for career guidance sessions.
- Illinois Arts Council AgencyminorInstitutional sponsor providing year-round support of the Midwest Clinic as an Illinois arts organization.
- The Wind Repertory ProjectcorePartnership providing comprehensive database of every work performed at the annual Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference from 1970 through 2025. Attendees can browse thousands of concert programs and events.
- Yamaha CorporationcoreSponsors the Jazz PreConference Intensive. Yamaha provides Silent Bass and other equipment for participants. Rhythm section backline includes drumset, keyboard, guitar amp, bass amp, and Yamaha Silent Bass.
- McCormick Place WestcoreOfficial venue for the annual conference. Largest and most flexible convention center in North America with over 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space. Located on Chicago's lakefront near downtown.
- McCormick Place WestcoreSponsors the High School Leadership Institute, providing leadership training led by Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser for high school student leaders interested in music education careers.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Midwest Clinic competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Music for All (Bands of America): Nonprofit organization that runs the Bands of America Grand National Championships and Summer Symposium, directly comparable as a nonprofit music education events operator serving the same K-12 band/orchestra educator and student performer audience.
- Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA): State-level professional association that operates one of the largest annual music education conventions/clinics in the US, directly comparable as a membership-based organization hosting clinics, performances, and an exhibit hall for the same educator community.
- National Association for Music Education (NAfME): The largest national professional association for music educators, which runs national and division conferences and addresses instrumental music education, sharing the same nonprofit association model and educator-attendee base.
- Percussive Arts Society: International nonprofit that runs PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), a comparable professional conference/clinic format for a specialized instrumental music education vertical with performances, clinics, and an exhibit hall.
- American String Teachers Association (ASTA): National nonprofit for string educators that operates an annual conference with clinics, performances, and exhibits; comparable nonprofit-association conference model serving a parallel instrumental music education vertical (strings vs. band/orchestra).
- College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA): Professional association of college band directors that holds national and divisional conferences centered on wind band repertoire and performance, sharing the same nonprofit-association event model and partially overlapping performer/clinician pool.
Broad incumbents
- NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants): Operates the NAMM Show, the largest music products industry trade show globally; not purely education-focused but competes for music educator attention and exhibitor dollars, and is already a Midwest Clinic programming partner.
Emerging players
- Jazz Education Network (JEN): Nonprofit that holds an annual jazz education conference featuring performances, clinics, and exhibits; directly comparable in event format but with narrower jazz-specific focus overlapping with the Midwest Clinic's jazz programming.
Regional players
- World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE): International organization that hosts a biennial conference for symphonic band conductors, educators, and performers; comparable conference format but with global rather than US-centric attendance and a less frequent cadence.
Others
- Carnegie Hall (Weill Music Institute): Major performing arts organization that runs professional development programs for music educators (including LinkUP and online courses); adjacent rather than competing, sharing educator professional development as a mission but not a conference/event operator.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Midwest Clinic social profiles
Digital presenceThe Midwest Clinic financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Midwest Clinic leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles24 records
The Midwest Clinic subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
The Midwest Clinic funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Midwest Clinic M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Midwest Clinic
What does The Midwest Clinic do?
The Midwest Clinic operates an annual three-day international band and orchestra conference at McCormick Place West in Chicago featuring 100+ clinics, 50+ performances by bands and orchestras, rehearsal labs, new music reading sessions, and a 400+ exhibitor trade hall. The organization also delivers pre-conference intensives, conducting institutes, student leadership programs, and an online education portal offering CEUs and graduate college credit in partnership with VanderCook College of Music.
Is The Midwest Clinic a public or private company?
The Midwest Clinic is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Midwest Clinic founded?
The Midwest Clinic was founded in 1946. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Midwest Clinic based?
The Midwest Clinic is headquartered in Des Plaines, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Midwest Clinic make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Attendee Registration Fees are the primary driver. The others are exhibitor Booth Sales, sponsorships, pre-Conference Programs and college Credit Programs.
Who are The Midwest Clinic's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Music for All (Bands of America), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Percussive Arts Society, American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) is listed as a broad incumbent. Jazz Education Network (JEN) is listed as an emerging player. World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) is listed as a regional player. Carnegie Hall (Weill Music Institute) is listed as an others.
Does The Midwest Clinic have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Midwest Clinic.
What industry is The Midwest Clinic in?
The Midwest Clinic's product category is Music Education Conference / Professional Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHACAA, Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies), with a secondary code of MPAGAGAD, Academic & Scientific Conferences. Its NAICS code is 81392 and its SIC code is 8600.