Northampton Community Music Center Inc

Founded in 1986, Northampton Community Music Center’s mission is to foster the love and pursuit of music within our community through quality music education, performances and activities that are accessible to all.  Its faculty of 50 professional teaching artists offers private instruction in more than 20 different musical instruments, as well as a diverse selection of group classes and ensemble opportunities to more than 850 students annually.

Special workshops featuring nationally-acclaimed guest artists are held throughout the year, and have included the Borromeo and Chiara String Quartets, Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, singer-songwriter David Wilcox, and renowned violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg.

Outreach is a big part of the culture at NCMC.  The Music & Alzheimer’s Project brings live therapeutic music experiences to residents of local nursing centers on a weekly basis, as well as provides personalized media players to confined patients as part of their regular care regimen.  Other community organizations with which NCMC has partnered include the Care Center of Holyoke, the Clarke School for the Deaf, Community Resources for People with Autism, Berkshire Hills Music Academy, and ServiceNet.

NCMC’s family concert series brings renowned children’s music to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and its recital hall hosts public concerts regularly throughout the year.  NCMC students and teachers can be seen and heard regularly at local schools, libraries, and on the sidewalks of Main Street in downtown Northampton during our annual Springfest celebration.