A group of Music Center students taking a break outside between Saturday classes.
Community Music Center of Boston in the South End recently kicked off its 105th year of music education.
“Community Music Center of Boston is a truly unique place,” said Executive Director David Lapin, who has been with the organization since 1981. “Through face-to-face interactions and increasingly high-tech means of marketing, more than five generations of CMCB leaders and students have enjoyed our high quality instruction and family-like community—thousands of students representing all ages, cognitive and physical abilities, city neighborhoods, countries and languages of origin, socio-economic means and political leanings.”
Casually known as “The Music Center,” the organization offers private lessons, ensembles and choruses for all ages, levels and abilities. It offers private instrument instruction in more than 25 instruments ranging from the piano to the accordion. Students can start lessons as early as 5 months old at through the Early Childhood Program, which provides fun and educational instruction in group classes that eventually prepare them for private lessons. Small group classes, known as Beginning Instrument classes, are offered for ages 4 to 7 and include beginning piano, strings, guitar, flute, drums and voice.
The 2014-2015 school year also features several new offerings, such as Beginning Voice, a weekly group class for students ages 5 to 6 who learn to create a healthy sound with efficient breath support, body awareness and sound projection;
Beginning Brass Band, instrument instruction for newcomers looking to learn the trumpet and trombone, among other popular brass instruments; and BeatShop, which teaches middle- and high-school students electronic composition, production and DJ style mixing through cutting edge technology.
The Music Center also boasts Boston’s longest-running music therapy program. Using music as a tool to help social, cognitive, physical and emotional health, the program is run by experienced professionals and serves people of all ages suffering from intellectual and developmental challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders and physical disabilities, among other conditions.
More than a century after its inception, Community Music Center of Boston remains a unique musical oasis in the city.
“If The Music Center ceased to exist, not only would people have to find affordable music education elsewhere, but Boston would lose an essential civic institution and cultural hub,” Lapin said.
For more information on Community Music Center of Boston, visit www.cmcb.org.