San Francisco Conservatory of Music

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music began in 1917 as the Ada Clement Piano School, operating out of the remodeled home of Lillian Hodghead’s parents. The founders, Ada Clement and Lillian Hodghead, opened the school with only three pianos, two blackboards, and forty students. They were initially so committed to their mission that they personally donated the instruments to get the school started. By 1923, the institution had grown enough to incorporate as a formal conservatory, marking the first time such an institution was established on the West Coast.