Our Story

The Wilder Deitz School for Creative Music was founded in 2021 by Wilder Deitz and Ruben Arndt, lifelong creative musicians from Madison, Wisconsin. Building from three core principles- Community, Creativity, and Excellence- their goal was to bring together the joy and expression of creative playing with the rigor of classical training.

Their inspiration was NEA Jazz Master Richard Davis, Wilder’s longtime mentor and collaborator in the East High School Black Music Ensemble- a program that Ruben would help expand to other high schools in the Madison area.

Within just a couple years, their creative music programs needed a dedicated space, and so the Wilder Deitz School for Creative Music was born. Since then, Wilder, Ruben, and their instructors have trained musicians of all ages in the art of creative playing.

Nowadays the school pulses with musical life- lessons, classes, ensembles, jam sessions, performances, masterclasses, and more- reflecting a musicianship community of many levels, ages, and genres, all focused on one thing: the craft of creative music.