Grand opening set for folk music school in Chicago

A music school that received state funding for an upgrade is officially opening in Chicago.

State and city officials are expected at Monday's ribbon-cutting for the Old Town School of Folk Music's new building, including Gov. Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The Old Town School has a new 27,100-square-foot, $17 million facility that officials say will help with expanded programming. It includes three new dance studios, new acoustically engineered classrooms and a 1150-seat performance space.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity awarded the music school about $2.35 million in grants for the new building. A weekend preview event at the school included a performance by Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who plays the banjo.