The Midwest Clinic

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.

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

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

• Music education conference
• Professional development
• Band orchestra clinic
• Music educator training
• Music industry exhibition

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Plaines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Midwest Clinic FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-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 MarylandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHouses The Midwest Clinic archive for historical preservation of conference materials and records.
• NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership 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 AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional sponsor providing year-round support of the Midwest Clinic as an Illinois arts organization.
• The Wind Repertory ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership 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 CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsors 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 WestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial 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 WestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsors 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/midwestclinic
• Facebookfacebook.com/midwestclinic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-midwest-clinic
• Instagraminstagram.com/themidwestclinic/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Midwest Clinic