Not exactly midwest, but you also might want to take a look at Gettysburg. They have a true conservatory, but it looks like the walls between it and the rest of the campus are quite porous (a lot like Lawrence, it sounds like). For instance, anyone can audition for their ensembles. Not sure about their composition offerings, but with a true school of music, there are bound to be some. Also, they have strong academics but probably still offer merit aid to kids with high stats. Sounds like a fairly preppy and heavily frat-influenced campus culture, so if that sounds like a turn-off, then it might not be a great fit. Just putting it out there…