♪ ♪ [rushing river] The decision by Boston merchant Amos A. Lawrence to develop a city by first building a university paid off just as he predicted.

Lawrence University attracted both settlers and students, who first studied a preparatory curriculum.

- Jerald Podair: It's like a prep school.

These schools exist today where sometimes, after high school, a student will go to a prep school for a year to get them ready for the rigors of college, and that's what Lawrence featured at the very beginning.

[bright orchestra music] - By 1857, the school grew to become a conventional college, graduating its first class of four men and three women.

- Jerald Podair: It's a co-educational institution, which is pretty unique at the time.

Only really the second in the United States.

- As the city grew around it, La wrence brought famous speakers and politicians to Appleton, like the abolitionist Frederick Douglas and U.S. President William Howard Taft.

During downturns in the economy, the young college often struggled to recruit students and pay its debts.

But in 1894, Samuel Plantz, a graduate of Lawrence, returned to usher in a new era of growth.

- Jerald Podair: When Samuel Plantz becomes president of Lawrence, he does a lot of things for the university.

He certainly straightens out its finances.

He increases the enrollment.

He increases the endowment.

- Many campus buildings rose up during the President Plantz building boom, but the new president also changed the focus of the college.

- Jerald Podair: He says, "We are not going to do what the larger universities do.

The core of Lawrence's mission is a liberal arts mission."

- With its new mission as a liberal arts college, the number of students would soon quadruple, and under the leadership of President Plantz came a new emphasis on music that would also grow to be a core of the school's-- and the city's-- identity.

- Brian Pertl: Samuel Plantz created the Conservatory of Music that has lasted ever since.

And it was at the same time that they created the first official music degree.

[arpeggios on piano] Some of our earliest professors in the conservatory were prominent women musicians on piano and on voice.

For us, women have been a huge part of our conservatory, both as in the professorate and the student body.

The other aspect of that early conservatory that I think is important is it wasn't just people attending the college courses, but from the very beginning, there was a community music aspect to the Conservatory of Music.

[cacophony of instruments] - In Main Hall, the growth of the program created a musical disturbance in neighboring classrooms.

To solve the issue, President Plantz began the building of Peabody Hall.

- Brian Pertl: And it was a big deal because it was a building dedicated to music.

It had a fairly large hall that could seat almost 400 people in it.

- During the Plantz building boom, a lack of funding caused the construction of one last building to be delayed.

- Brian Pertl: This was a Methodist institution.

They needed a chapel.

But they had grander ideas because it was never supposed to be just a religious space.

It was supposed to be a gathering space for the campus but also for the Appleton community.

And the idea for the chapel came about in 1908.

- Fundraising for the chapel dragged on for a decade until an anonymous donor pledged over $60,000... if the Appleton community would match it.

- Jerald Podair: Lawrence actually went on its probably most successful fundraising campaign, described as a whirlwind campaign at the time.

It took about a week or so.

They were able to raise the $60,000, and they even got an extra $10,000 for an organ.

- Brian Pertl: And I love that because it's kind of this nexus point between the university and Appleton.

And so, this has been this gathering place since it was built in 1918.

By the '20s, that had pretty much shifted to a more secular use.

♪ ♪ [Sista Strings, Nickel & Rose play strings music] It is used for performance of all kinds, for speakers, for music, for orchestras, for choirs, bands.

You name it, and it goes on here.

So, one of the wonderful things about Lawrence, and then the chapel, is that it's the home to the Artist Series, which has existed at Lawrence for over a hundred years.

A hundred years of bringing in renowned artists from around the globe.

It's mind-boggling how many people have been here speaking or performing.

[Lawrence College Concert Choir sings traditional song] - Announcer: We bring you now a special 15-minute program of choral music from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin.

- Through its artist series, rigorous musical instruction, and performing ensembles, the Lawrence Conservatory built a nationally recognized program.

- Brian Pertl: In the '40s and '50s, the voice was our primary focus.

We had orchestra.

We had band.

But I think it was really the choirs.

People started to notice this music school in Wisconsin and realize how fine the education was.

It just started to build from there.

We've developed into a school that doesn't have "the one thing we're good at."

The one thing Lawrence is good at... is everything, and that's really something that sets us apart.

People who visit say, "You've got something special here, "and you should be really proud of what's going on because it's amazing."

That, to me, is the magic of this place.

[Lawrence University Choir sings in blended voice]