Editorial: Folk school strikes right chords

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Updated: February 11, 2012 8:12AM

For 55 years, the Old Town School of Folk Music has understood that if folk music is the music of the people, then the people should be playing it. No institution has done more to get guitars, banjos and other instruments out of their cases and into the hands of amateur performers.

On Monday, the school opened a 27,100-square-foot, $17 million facility at 4545 N. Lincoln Ave. that has three new dance studios, acoustically engineered classrooms and a 1,150-seat performance space. It complements the school’s existing locations, and expands its range of instruction and performances. The state chipped in about $2.35 million for the building.

But the sign of school’s success is not just the new building. It’s also all those Chicagoans whom the school — through many classes and performances — has connected to their own inner music.