‘Building On A Legacy’: Highland Parker tapped to lead Music Institute of Chicago

Shalisa Kline Ugaz knew she wanted to be a violin player when she was 3 years old. Her grandmother brought her to a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert and, sitting in front of the violin section, she was mesmerized.

Once her father got her into lessons at 7, Ugaz practiced diligently to “catch up” with other string players and eventually became a player in the Madison Symphony Orchestra. 

But her dream to continue as a professional violinist was interrupted when she developed tendonitis in her hand. Still, with a passion for music, she went on to teach violin at the Music Institute of Chicago and lead numerous other music education organizations before settling in Highland Park. 

“When people ask me, that must be so hard for you not being able to play violin. It was hard for a while, I’m not going to lie,” Ugaz said. “But I find just as much joy if not more from helping others grow as teachers, grow as students, advising parents — even the operations pieces, the finances, I love it.

“So I’ve found that my passion now is supporting organizations that provide this incredible service of community music education.”

Now approximately 20 years since Ugaz first taught pupils for MIC, the nonprofit’s board announced earlier this month that she is the institution’s newest president and CEO. Ugaz is also the first woman to lead the legacy music education group that supports nearly 2,000 students across its eight Chicago-area campuses. 

“We are really looking forward to the direction and the expertise that Shalisa brings and the world of opportunities that abound,” said Kevin Harrison, director operations at MIC’s Nichols Concert Hall. 

After leaving the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Ugaz moved to Chicago in 1997 to work in a violin shop. She started giving music lessons and, connected to the local arts community, created the Alegre Strings program, a music school primarily serving the city’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods.

There, helping lead instruction for more than 150 students, she implemented an ethic she hopes to carry on at MIC: that music education can be both exceptional and accessible at the same time by prioritizing scholarships and financial aid for students. 

“There are students that are quite exceptional, they come from all over the Midwest to come here on Saturdays and we want to make sure that we can provide support for those that are going to be professionals in music,” Ugaz said. 

Once Alegre Strings merged with the Merit School of Music in 2001, Ugaz went on to oversee music education programs at another school in New York City. 

Drawn to Highland Park’s culturally diverse and art-rich community, Ugaz moved to the Chicago suburb in 2015. She stayed despite its long commute up to Milwaukee, where she helped lead the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, the place responsible for her love of music. 

Since then, Ugaz helped reverse the conservatory’s financial deficits by partnering with public schools and expanding its 1,500 students to more than 16,000.

She also led the Royal Conservatory of Music but was particularly excited by the opportunity to join the MIC given its leading roster of music faculty.

Ugaz said she’s still determining what MIC’s priorities are moving forward, especially as its board is in the middle of creating its strategic plan. 

Nichols Concert Hall, the nonprofit’s Evanston venue that stages more than 100 performances a year, is undergoing cosmetic renovations. But moving forward, Ugaz said she’d like to raise more public awareness of the now 95-year-old nonprofit and its programs across its eight different campuses. 

“I’m excited about what’s next,” Ugaz said. “It’s about building on a legacy, but it’s really about what the next 100 years after this are going to look like and how we come together as a community to pull that vision together and set the course.

“I mean how lucky am I to be involved in that? It’s incredible.”

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