A Home for Music Education in the Upper Valley

Founded in 1995, UVMC has grown from a collection of friends making music together into a community music school helping over 1,000 Upper Valley residents learn to make music every year and sharing that music with thousands of audience members.

As the organization grew, so did facility needs. In January of 2017, UVMC launched a capital campaign for the purchase of a new home at 8 South Park Street in Lebanon. Known as the Kendrick-Wood House, UVMC renovated the 1816 brick building on Colburn Park in the center of downtown Lebanon, NH, to enhance the capacity for teaching and community gathering.  The organization moved during that summer and commenced operations in the newly renovated facility in September 2017. UVMC’s Board of Directors seized upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a permanent home for the UVMC and to solidify music education as a vital component in the heart of Lebanon’s arts’ district.

In November 2107, UVMC received a $100,000 grant from the Timken Foundation of Canton to support exterior renovation for the organization’s new home. This grant was matched in December 2018 by a $97,980 grant award from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). Over the coming months, UVMC will be preserving the building’s character-defining brick masonry, repairing the Colonial Revival entrance portico, painting and repairing siding, and replacing the roof. These two grants are crucial to maintain stewardship of the historic building, covering expensive repairs to chimneys, a roof in the last years of its life, and damaged masonry.

On May 19, 2018, more than 350 students and community members took part in an all-day musical marathon to contribute to the Securing Our Future campaign. Dubbed “Sing & Play 50k,” the event comprised UVMC students, faculty, and friends performing, playing and singing from 7:04 am to 9 pm, or 50,000 seconds of music. More than 1,000 contributors donated amounts as small as $1, raising over $100,000 toward the Securing Our Future campaign.