“Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras plans to build a new music center on East Washington Avenue, replacing the current Avenue Club and Bubble Up Bar, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” writes Gayle World in Tuesday’s (6/15) Wisconsin State Journal (Madison). “The new WYSO Center for Music will be home to rehearsal space for the 500 young musicians, ages 5-18, who receive instrumental music training…. Arts philanthropists Pleasant Rowland and Jerry Frautschi have pledged $18 million toward the project, which is expected to open by spring or fall 2023, said WYSO executive director Bridget Fraser.… The site is in the block adjacent to the block holding the soon-to-be-opened Madison Youth Arts Center…. WYSO [comprises] three full orchestras, two string orchestras, a chamber music program, a harp program, a percussion ensemble, a brass choir program and the WYSO Music Makers program, targeted to underserved youth in the Madison area. For decades, WYSO had used space in the UW-Madison Humanities Building … said music director Kyle Knox…. In 2019 … the university stepped back from hosting large groups of pre-college students…. WYSO had to move up its timeline to find a new home.”
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