Mission & Values
The Upper Valley Music Center’s mission is to provide and promote the best in music education and ensemble opportunities for people living in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire and beyond.
Connecting Mission to the Classroom
Every day, Upper Valley Music Center faculty provide and promote the best in music education following our values.
Core Values
- Music is an essential part of life because it nourishes us, and helps us understand and share the lives we lead together.
- Everyone can make music and benefit from listening to music.
- We welcome and seek to include all interested people, regardless of age, background, economic resources, or ability.
- We value musical diversity, including genres, instruments, voices, and levels.
Community Values
- When people make and listen to music together, through performances and other means, they create and strengthen community in an organic and meaningful way.
- Creating and supporting these opportunities for people to come together for music making builds their capacity to infuse music into the fabric of the community.
- Immersion in a musically diverse environment inspires rich learning experiences and builds musical bridges between groups of people.
- A supportive, collegial environment allows music educators to learn from and build on each other’s work.
Teaching & Learning Values
- Each stage of musical development requires excellent teaching.
- Music is a lifelong endeavor. Everyone can continue to grow and learn.
- A variety of pedagogical approaches and styles best meets students’ diverse needs and interests.
- Students learn best through a positive approach to feedback and a generosity of spirit.
- Sharing music is an important part of learning, whether through performance or other means.