Music for Everyone: The Kilton Public Library & Upper Valley Music Center Collaboration

Free concerts at the library? Hearing live music may not be what you first expect while checking out the latest Stephen King or fantasy romance tale, but the Kilton Public Library and the Upper Valley Music Center (UVMC) are working together to bring music education and appreciation to the Lebanon area with varied events for all ages every month.

The two entities started working together around COVID when the library was interested in hosting daytime summer concerts outside at their facility, and the UVMC was happy to oblige. Erin Smith, the education director at UVMC and one of the main people responsible for the work involved in this partnership, expressed that one of the greatest aspects of the collaboration is “making music education accessible to the whole community.” She expressed that having free programs in the library, where free programming for the community is the norm, has become a great way to do that.

After these initial concerts with the Kilton Public Library, both organizations were able to work toward making music appreciation and education more accessible. Because of patron interest, the UVMC received a grant to increase the types of programming they were able to provide. After the library and the UVMC conducted surveys, they were able to provide more participatory events with this funding. Whether they bring down guest program leaders such as the Burlington Taiko Group or utilize the various talented educators at their facility, the UVMC strives to provide the community with the music education they’re looking for. Though some events are still held outside, a good deal of them now occur in the community room inside the library.

One successful recent participatory event was a drum circle headed by percussion instructor Christian Terry. The first event took place in July, and Terry had ten people, spanning from ages 4 to those in their 70s, each with varied musical ability. Terry explained that one of his favorite things about this specific outreach event is that anyone can do it, even if they don’t have a strong music background. After holding another larger drum circle in August with mostly different attendees, he expressed that another exciting aspect is that every drum circle is different. Everyone “shar[es] in this moment that will never happen again,” which makes the experience only more powerful.

Draa Hobbs, a jazz guitar instructor at UVMC, also had a lot to say about unique music moments. In addition to being scheduled to play an upcoming concert with John Stowell this September, he expressed how under-represented jazz is in the surrounding community, partially due to it being an improvised art form. To help remedy this, he held a well-attended workshop at the library a little while ago, where he taught guitarists how to improvise. He expressed how one of the hardest aspects in running a workshop like this is to make sure everyone learns something from the instruction, especially when there is such a wide range of skill levels. Despite the challenges, Hobbs believes the outreach is worth it because “it’s crucial to keep putting…a great music [genre] in front of an audience,” as well as “continue to interest younger people in a very interesting art form.”

Even when events seem more passive, like a concert, the music educators at the UVMC still impart music history and appreciation to the Lebanon community. Take Faith Goodness, a flutist who led a recent concert on August 18th. Goodness expressed how, in her latest concert at the Kilton Public Library, she focused on more “modern playing” techniques in classical music, from “flutter-tonguing,” along with “multiphonics,” “overtones,” and even singing while she plays flute. Throughout, Goodness took time in between pieces to cue listeners into what they were about to hear, as well as talk about the history of each piece that she was playing. Selecting works from the Baroque period to the modern era, she worked to encapsulate an entire primer of flute classical music history.

It’s not just educators who perform. In the past, a group of students from the UVMC came to the library to perform music set to picture books. These experiences illustrate some of the values incorporated by major programs at the UVMC, including Music Together and the Suzuki method, which encourage the strengthening of musical bonds between parents and children and within their larger surrounding communities. Benjamin Van Vliet, the UVMC’s Executive Director, expressed that one of his favorite aspects of the events was that the Kilton Library keeps the community room doors open, and it’s “so fun to see people wander into these experiences. Sometimes, it’s a little kid dragging their parent along, but sometimes, it’s an adult just going for a book that gets sidetracked and curious.”

In outreach like this, sometimes the impact can be greater than ever imagined. Erin Smith shared one incredible example, where the UVMC worked with the Kilton Public Library to put on a couple of jam sessions where musicians with any instrument or ability level were invited to participate in playing New England fiddle tunes. The attending group enjoyed the accessibility and welcoming nature of these events so much that they continue to run similar events, even though the UVMC is no longer involved in hosting them.

Whether you want to learn more about different genres, participate in music events regardless of your skill level, or simply hear great music, the Kilton Public Library and Upper Valley Music Center have their Lebanon residents covered as they continue to make music more accessible to everyone.