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Short of a financial windfall, Springfield's Conservatory of the Ozarks will close its doors at the end of September.
Heather Leverich founded the fine arts academy in 2008 in a church. The next year she opened a storefront with three teaching studios in Chesterfield Village. Nearly five years ago, the conservatory moved to a larger space in the Kickapoo Corners shopping center on South Avenue.
Students of all ages signed up for private and group lessons in voice, drama, art, piano and other musical instruments. At its height, more than 200 students were enrolled in at least one artistic pursuit.
Shutting down is not the outcome Leverich anticipated at the start of 2020.
"Everything was going really well at the beginning of this year. It was great, actually," she said.
In mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic triggered a shutdown of all the businesses not deemed essential.
"We weren't allowed to teach in the studio anymore for a month. A lot of people did not want to switch to online lessons," she said. "Then some people lost their job ... or they were afraid they'd lose their job and for economic reasons they had to discontinue."
Leverich said the shutdown ended and the conservatory reopened but was not able to fully return to normal. Despite implementing a slew of new safety precautions, she said families were still worried about COVID-19.
"Some students never have come back in person," she said. "They are still doing their lessons online."
She credited federal coronavirus relief funds and a lenient landlord for helping the arts center get through the summer.
"Despite that, we lost nearly half our students. That is a big cut in late March, early April, when the shutdown happened. It has stayed the same since," she said. "I kind of had in my head if we just get through summer, we'll have our normal back-to-school rush and everything will be fine."
However, that did not happen.
"This month is the first month since the shutdown that I've had two new people start and one of them, who lives in Connecticut, is only online," she said.
In mid-August, Leverich realized that without additional coronavirus relief funds or more students, the storefront will not be able to stay open. Typically, private lessons are $110 a month and group lessons are $50 a month.
Leverich, who has a master's degree in voice from Concordia University, has extensive experience as a teacher and performer. Other conservatory instructors range from local college faculty to commercially successful musicians.
"I had to start talking to teachers and telling them 'I think we're going to have to close — unless a miracle happens and we have an infux of students all the sudden, bigger than we've ever had before to make up for that huge drop,'" she said. "I don't know how I am going to pay rent, which is our biggest expense."
This year has been difficult for Springfield music stores. School of Rock closed, and the Pellegrino's School of Music and Art closed its storefront and moved online.
More:Springfield district enrollment drops by 1,397 students this fall
Colette Wilbers enrolled her daughter, Hannah, in voice and piano lessons 11 years ago at the conservatory. She later added art lessons.
She said her daughter, now a high school student, has flourished and her progress was evident in the regular recitals in schools, churches and retirement homes.
"I remember holding my breath and holding back tears, no easy feat, as Hannah sang Handel’s 'He Shall Feed His Flock' at one of her first conservatory recitals, which was held at a Springfield nursing home. She was 6 or 7 years old," Wilbers recalled.
She said Leverich challenged students to learn difficult pieces for recitals. "And I was so proud of Hannah’s determination to learn the song and get up in front of a crowd to sing it."
Wilbers said news that the conservatory will likely close was shocking because Hannah had been taking lessons online.
"I didn't realize enrollment had declined to the extent that it has," she said.
In mid-September, at the urging of students' families, Leverich launched a campaign on GoFundMe.com to either stay open or help with expenses related to closing the store. As of Friday, more than $1,800 had been raised.
"The uncertainty is so frustrating," she said. "I'd love to stay open if we raised enough money with the GoFundMe. It just seems impossible right now."
Leverich said if the store closes, which appears likely, she and the other faculty plan to still teach "out of our homes or online." She plans to keep the conservatory's LLC status and has not ruled out reopening in the future.
"If I do move my studio into my home, I want to build a wheelchair-accessible, stroller-accessible sidewalk to get into the entrance of my studio," she said. "I would also need to build a wall."
Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com and consider supporting vital local journalism by subscribing. Learn more by visiting News-Leader.com/subscribe.
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