EDMONDS — It’s easy to figure out the passion of Jim Paul and Dee Wells when you walk into the large, high-ceilinged living room of their home.
Two stately pianos stand side by side along one wall, while across the room sits a salmon-colored harpsichord with gold accents.
You’d probably sense that they have a thing for music. You’d be right.
Paul and Wells moved to the Northwest from San Diego in 1990, envisioning a quiet retirement. Paul made his living as a music professor and performer, while Wells worked for years as a computer systems analyst. As it’s turned out, their golden years have instead been filled with the sounds of chamber music.
Though there are symphonies and private lessons in the area, the couple said they believed kids with exceptional musical potential weren’t getting elite-level education.
So Paul and Wells opened the Academy of Music Northwest in 1997 to serve as a pre-college academy designed to train elite musicians ages 3 to 18. Academy teachers are professional musicians, making their living in music and teaching academy students on evenings and weekends. Students hail from all over the Puget Sound region, including many over the years from Snohomish County.
Before the academy was formed, said Wells, “there wasn’t anything (in the Puget Sound region) for kids this talented.”
“Nothing,” added co-founder Dorothy Klotzman, “and so many talented kids.”
Klotzman received her musical education growing up in New York City, attending and working at The Juilliard School, and acting as the director of the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College. She is currently a vice president and the provost at Academy of Music Northwest, overseeing the curriculum, which includes theory, composition, conducting and more.
Paul is academy president, while Wells fulfills the role of vice president of administration and finance from the kitchen, which is the academy’s office and is “always open,” Paul said. “We breathe it in, day in and day out.” Recitals and practices are conducted in the living room — with those two pianos.
Academy classes and performances needing additional space are carried out in space the academy rents from Bellevue Christian Church.
With their dedication to nurturing young musicians, Paul and Wells refuse to turn away students if they have the talent — even if they can’t afford tuition. Like most academies of its kind, donations are pivotal for all students to have access: “It’s the only way we can keep going,” Wells said.
Despite times of financial hardship, their dedication has paid off. According to Paul, 100 percent of students who have gone through the school get into the university or conservatory of their choice.
Many have performed as soloists with major symphonies before they graduate high school. Four have won an elite national award for young composers from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
For the academy founders, though, it’s about much more than accolades. It’s about creating a community for young musicians, and offering kids a place to thrive.
At the end of the day for Paul, Wells and Klotzman, the most important thing is seeing individual kids dedicating themselves to music.
That’s why the sight of a kid with an umbrella and a violin case, walking home in the rain, gives them a deep sense of satisfaction, Paul said.
Academy of Music Northwest
Address: 9109 196th St. SW, Edmonds
Phone: 425-778-7711
Info: Academy admission is by placement for children 10 and under, while 11- to 18-year-olds must audition.
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