Sharing Music with Others: Dave Beaufait, Musician and Volunteer

Dave Beaufait taps two long-handled spoons together in a conference room in the Howe Library. A child watches him tap a beat, then she watches her mother do the same before she picks up a tiny tambourine and joins in.

It’s all in a day’s work — or play — for UVMC volunteer Beaufait. If he’s not helping out at an instrument petting zoo or concert, you can be sure to find him at one of at one of UVMC’s English Country Dance Music Sessions or Slow Jam sessions on Friday nights. He even helped facilitate the move of the Carolan Festival, based in Vermont for 14 years, to UVMC in Lebanon.

Since retiring, Beaufait has dedicated more time to music, including organizing and supporting music events. “I get to hear some music I probably wouldn’t get to hear otherwise while I am volunteering,” he said. “And anything to do with kids is fun. I may have them try fiddlesticks — rhythm sticks on strings while I am playing the fiddle — for a few minutes. It’s a way of engaging kids at family events.”

Beaufait started playing the violin in grade school. “I was the last chair, the worst second violin in the city grade school orchestra,” he said. “Half the time I didn’t know what we were supposed to be playing.”

He had private lessons for a time, but stopped playing the violin before high school. For many years, he only played music at home for his own enjoyment after discovering the mandolin has the same strings — with frets — as the violin.

“My wife had a good friend who was a wonderful musician, and she gave us a collection of instruments, including three violas,” Beaufait said. “I played them for a little bit, then put them down again because I couldn’t figure out viola clef. I still can’t, but I love viola range ‘woodshedding’ at home in a lower key.”

That changed following an introduction to UVMC in 2005. When UVMC was located in the orange building on Mechanic Street, Beaufait signed up for viola lessons and group fiddle classes.

“I converted a couple of the violas to octave fiddles using heavier strings,” Beaufait said. “I tried one out in a group fiddle lesson and asked the other students if it sounded okay. One said, ‘It would be fine if you were in tune.’ I still laugh at the memory.”

A constant learner, Beaufait continues to try out instruments as they come into his life. He’ll reversibly modify them into something new, such as using a bolt to raise the nut on an old mandolin to change the tonality. “I love the different sounds,” he said.

He also tried out lessons, classes, and ensembles at UVMC. He’s had one-on-one lessons with Amy Cann, been participating in the English Country Dance sessions for more than 15 years, and is a long-standing member of the Slow Jams series on Friday nights.

“I really enjoy English Country Dance and Slow Jams,” Beaufait said. “It’s fun to be able to play music with better musicians than I am. I even get to hide behind better players to play in open bands and jams. I tell people, from really young kids to adults, that there is a wide range of possible things to pursue in music.”