Former Ravinia CEO Welz Kauffman named executive director of Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Ravinia Festival chief executive officer Welz Kauffman has been named the executive director and chief executive officer of Chicago's renowned Old Town School of Folk Music.

Kauffman was appointed to the position following a national search.

"We are thrilled to have Welz as the next Executive Director & CEO of the Old Town School," Kate Tomford, chair of the board of directors of the Old Town School of Folk Music, said in a news release. "Welz's enthusiasm for music in all its forms is infectious. He brings not just a passion for music and dance, but tremendous depth and breadth of experience as a highly accomplished leader of arts organizations in Chicago and around the nation. We are excited to welcome him back to Chicago to lead the Old Town School and our community into a new chapter of musical discovery and growth.

Kaufmann served as CEO of the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park from 2000 through 2020. He had planned to step down after one last season in 2020, but that season ended up being canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Old Town School credited Kauffman with rejuvenating and expanding educational programs ta Ravinia through the Reach, Teach, Play initiative and the Steans Music Institute. Kauffman also diversified offerings at Ravinia—which during his tenure featured the longstanding summer performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and shows by Bob Dylan, Common, Lauryn Hill, Ramsey Lewis, and Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Ravinia also hosted the U.S. and Midwest premieres of the first Zulu opera, "Princess Magogo," the Old Town School of Folk Music noted.

In a 2020 interview published in the Ravinia Backstage Blog, Kauffman said booking more top-tier non-classical acts was among his top priorities at Ravinia—as the north suburban venue found itself suddenly competing with the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

"The trick, if there was one, was either returning non-classical offerings to what they were in the late '60s and early '70s, or starting anew," he said in the interview. "I prefer to look back and say that I continued the tradition of Ike and Tina Turner, the Carpenters, Janis Joplin being here. Unbelievable."

The Old Town School also noted that Kauffman led a major growth in donors and revenue at Ravinia—and also enhanced performance facilities and food and beverage offerings. Kauffman's tenure at Ravinia also saw the opening of the Ravinia Music Box Experience Center—which, Ravinia notes, features a wraparound holographic theater and interactive gallery space for an immersive musical experience.

"I could not be more honored to collaborate with the Old Town School's teaching artists, staff, board, and community as we guide and grow the next chapter of this beloved institution," Kauffman said in the Old Town School news release. "Music is a universal language and a powerful connector across communities and cultures. We need this language now more than ever. The Old Town School is a Chicago treasure, where music-making and community-building go hand in hand."

Before joining Ravinia, Kauffman worked as director of artistic planning for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and artistic administrator for the New York Philharmonic. He also worked with Bobby McFerrin to create a renowned education program with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra as general manager there, the Old Town School noted.

Since leaving Ravinia, Kauffman has been living in Tucson, Arizona, where he most recently had been heading up the Tucson Festival of Books. Before that, he served as managing director of the True Concord Voices & Orchestra choir in Tucson, according to published reports.

The Old Town School of Folk Music: 67 years of music and culture

The Old Town School of Folk Music was founded in 1957 by folk musicians Win Stracke and Frank Hamilton. The first location for the music school was for the Old Town neighborhood at 333 W. North Ave., and the school noted that Studs Terkel was among those in attendance for the school's first night in operation.

The Old Town School said during the first five years in operation, more than 150 students took weekly group guitar and banjo classes at the school. The Old Town School also offered folk dancing, family singalongs, and concerts by the likes of Pete Seeger, Mahalia Jackson, and Big Bill Broonzy.

The Old Town School grew in the 1960s—contributing to a folk music revival scene that took root across the country and in the Old Town neighborhood in particular. Notably, the Earl of Old Town folk music club opened around the corner on Wells Street in 1962.

Notable musicians such as John Prine, Bob Gibson, Bonnie Koloc, Steve Goodman, and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds all studied at the Old Town School in its early days, the school noted. Musician and club owner Fred Holstein also took lessons at the Old Town School in its earliest days beginning in 1960, while his brother, Ed Holstein, teaches at the Old Town School to this day.

In 1968—with its North Avenue headquarters set to be torn down—the Old Town School moved to The Aldine Hall, a 13,000 square-foot Romanesque Revival building at 909 W. Armitage Ave. in Lincoln Park that the school still uses as a secondary location. The Old Town School began offering private lessons in all different instruments—including classical guitar, banjo, mandolin, and mountain dulcimer, its history page noted.

The Old Town School also opened satellite locations in Skokie and Evanston in the 70s, and enrollment peaked in 1975 with more than 650 students coming for classes weekly, the school's history website noted.

From 1983 until 1986, the concert hall at Old Town School's Armitage Avenue location hosted the live "Flea Market" radio show, which was produced by WBEZ and broadcast nationally. Musicians Larry Rand and Art Thieme, Jim Post, and Stuart Rosenberg all had stints hosting the "Flea Market" program—which featured performers ranging from the Balkan Rhythm Band with its fusion of jazz and traditional Balkan music, to novelty artist Jan Hobson of "Raccoon Song" fame, among many others.

Meanwhile, after a period of declining enrollment that led to the school nearing bankruptcy by 1981, fundraising efforts and a redesigned curriculum soon led enrollment and revenue to rebound, according to the school's website. A major a renovation of the Armitage Avenue building followed in 1987.

By the 1990s, demand at the Old Town School was growing again—to the point where the school was supplementing its space by holding some classes in an apartment building down the street at 939 W. Armitage Ave.

The Wiggleworms' kids' program for young children boomed in particular in the 90s. Meanwhile, offerings branched out from folk music with a new Blues School program, and acoustic guitar ensemble programs where classes would learn to master one record per session—such as teacher Jimmy Tomasello's Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead ensembles and teacher Steve Levitt's Beatles ensemble. Teens rocked out at the Riff Café open mic.

In 1998, the Old Town School opened its current main headquarters in the old Hild Library building at 4544 N. Lincoln Ave., a 43,000 square-foot structure that features a 400-seat concert hall and vast additional classroom space. The new Old Town School was dedicated on Sept. 18, 1998, with a concert by Joni Mitchell and Peter Yarrow, the school noted.

The Old Town School expanded to an additional building across the street at 4545 N. Lincoln Ave. in 2012.

Currently, the Old Town School of Folk Music now enrolls nearly 6,600 students, of whom 2,700 are children. It offers 700 accredited weekly classes, private lessons, and more than 400 concerts and community events.