To celebrate its students’ broad range of instrumental and vocal talent, the Middlebury Community Music Center (MCMC) hosted Bloom and Grow, a pay-what-you-can benefit concert, on Friday, March 28. Proceeds from the concert supported the non-profit’s student scholarship fund, improving accessibility to the center for students. The Center, now in its 10th year of operation, aims to cultivate musical talent and encourage the joy, fulfillment and sense of community that students experience through music.
The Center offers four year-round music and voice education programs with over 25 instruments and about 30 talented instructors teaching a variety of genres and styles. The programs are available to a variety of age groups and skill levels, including the private lesson program, summer camp and workshop cohorts, and an early childhood program, promoting foundational musical understanding and development for infants through preschool-age children.
The four programs are open to further expansion, according to Sadie Brightman, the Center’s founder and executive director. “We're always looking to expand the reach of our creative impact,” she said.
A musician and educator hailing from the local Vermont area, she drew from her insights gained through her background in musical education and performance to bring the Center to life. Her vision was also shaped by her personal connection to fellow teachers and students in the area.
Brightman recalled being inspired as early as her undergraduate years by the power of music to create connection, both internal and communal.
“There's something really special that happens when people are together in that shared vision that this can be for anyone who wants it, and part of the beginning of this vision also came out of my years of teaching and this strong philosophy that I share with other teachers as I started talking to them,” Brightman said.
After moving back to the area with her family after graduate school, Brightman noticed a lack of accessible musical education for the greater community within Middlebury. The idea for the center solidified one winter afternoon as she approached the yellow brick building on Main Street that housed her small piano studio.
“Once you reach a peak experience with your own music, the natural next step is just to want to share it,” Brightman said.
That moment of clarity laid the foundation for what the Middlebury Community Music Center would become. The Center now serves as a space where students can explore their musical potential and build the confidence to share their work with others.
“Our message that we’re just trying to yell from our corner of town is that you make music, we make music,” Brightman said. “It’s something that we can do and we want to encourage the overcoming of barriers and obstacles that we might have about perceiving our own potential in that area.”
Accessibility is central to the Center’s mission. Their donor-funded scholarship program enables students to acquire financial aid and promotes further participation across the community regardless of financial means.
“The amount of identity transformation that can happen to a person who has something like that to offer to their community is incredible,” Brightman said. “It's hard to put it even into words because it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are, it's just this offering that is meaningful.”
MCMC emphasizes the importance of guiding students through each step, from small breakthroughs to larger achievements, helping them develop the confidence and skills to share their progress and passion with others.
“It's really for everyone and it's not about talent, it's about the honor of coaching somebody toward their progress one step at a time to see them light up, to see the dots connecting, to see little baby steps of progress that lead to greater outcomes that then can be shared,” Brightman said.
