New Tune Up Program Offers Workshops and Lessons for Lifelong Music-Making

The Tune Up program helps musicians reconnect with their music-making, teacher, or instrument.

Do you have an old instrument in a case, calling to you as it gathers dust in the corner of a closet? Perhaps you took lessons as a young person, but when you take out your instrument, you’re not sure where to start. Or maybe you’re one of the thousands of people who have taken lessons at Upper Valley Music Center in the past 30 years, and you’d like to reconnect with your teacher. 

The new Tune Up program at Upper Valley Music Center is for you, and anyone who wants to get started playing or singing again. Developed as part of UVMC’s 30th Anniversary investment in musical community, Tune Up will offer three new ways to help people start music making again or to stay connected with their musical home.

Faith Goodness will lead the first instrument tune up workshop, focusing on winds and brass instruments.

Instrument Tune Up workshops are designed for people with instruments they haven’t played in a while. “Many people come through our doors with instruments wondering what needs to be done to get them in good working order,” according to Danelle Sims, UVMC’s Administrative Director. “This program will help get them moving in the right direction.” These workshops will be staffed by UVMC faculty, staff, and/or local technicians who can check out instruments, tune them, and point people in the right direction if repairs are needed. The first Instrument Tune Up event will focus on winds and brass instruments, and will be led by UVMC faculty member Faith Goodness, with Ellis Music providing additional expertise and guidance.

“UVMC is a home for music making, and Tune Up means that students who graduate from high school or adults who have to take a break can always come ‘home’ to make music.” – UVMC Executive Director Benjamin Van Vliet.

Technique Tune Up workshops are designed for those who have played or sung in the past and could use a refresher to get going again. UVMC faculty will review the fundamentals of technique for playing or singing to help people build confidence and refresh their memory. The first Technique Tune Up workshop will focus on singing. UVMC Voice Faculty member Jennifer Pomeroy will lead the workshop on Sunday, June 28. 

Technique and Instrument Tune Up workshops are free and open to anyone in the community.

For UVMC alumni who have previously enrolled in individual lessons at UVMC, Tune Up Lessons offer a free 30 minute lesson once per year to reconnect with their teacher or to try something new. “UVMC is a home for music making, and Tune Up means that students who graduate from high school or adults who have to take a break can always come ‘home’ to make music,” said UVMC Executive Director Benjamin Van Vliet.

For UVMC Alum Will Tanski, Tune Up means a lot. “I think it can be easy to feel, after a long time away, that you’ve left the world of music behind. The Tune Up program is a great reminder that music, and the wonderful musical community at UVMC, is always waiting for you to come back to it,” said Tanski.

Will Tanski, who studied voice at UVMC, has returned as an alum to perform in the Messiah Sing.

Want to get involved? Instrument Tune Up workshops are open to drop-ins; no need to sign up in advance! Technique Tune Up workshops are also free, but require advanced registration because space is limited. Upcoming workshops will be posted on UVMC’s website, and participants can register online or contact the office. For Tune Up Lessons alumni can use the Tune Up Lesson request form, and then UVMC staff will schedule a lesson based on instructor availability.