NORTHEAST IOWA SCHOOL OF MUSIC

NORTHEAST IOWA SCHOOL OF MUSIC. The school was founded in 2001 by Tracey Rush who came to Dubuque in the mid-1980s. After many years of teaching in Dubuque, she realized her students lacked a way of showcasing their talents. This led her to founding the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY STRING ORCHESTRA in 1998 in which she served as conductor. As a mother, she realized how difficult it was to get several children to lessons and decided the community needed a "one-stop-shop" for such occasions. (1)

Rush began NISOM as a nonprofit in 2001 with about fifty students. This number eventually increased to around two hundred. Instructors provided lessons for instruments and voice. (2) In 2010 the Northeast Iowa School of Music (NISOM) located at FOUNTAIN PARK was a non-profit organization and a certified member of National Guild for Community Arts Education. (3)

NISOM has provided music education in the Tri-State area by offering private lessons in piano, voice, guitar, and band and orchestra instruments, as well as a variety of group classes for students of all ages. No experience or audition was required. NISOM also provided music therapy instruction and outreach programs, sponsored the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY STRING ORCHESTRA and NEW HORIZONS BAND, and held numerous public performances each year. (4)

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Source:

1. Montgomery, Jeff. "Stepping Back from the Spotlight," Telegraph Herald, March 18, 2018, p. 1C

2. Ibid.

3. "2010 Season of the Arts," Julien's Journal, October 2010, p. 54

4. Ibid.

NISOM website