NORTH VALLEY MUSIC SCHOOL LAUNCHES CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Nonprofit signs sublease with Project Whitefish Kids for new music facility and campus
Exciting news for the future of music in Montana and North Valley Music School!
The City of Whitefish has approved the terms by which North Valley Music School can sublease land at Smith Fields from Project Whitefish Kids. The land will be the setting for a new music school campus that is the focus of an ongoing capital campaign.
“We are forever grateful to Project Whitefish Kids, to the City of Whitefish, and to our entire community that supports music education. Together, many supporters are bringing this long-time dream to fruition,” says NVMS Executive Director Deidre Corson.
Through a vote by the City Council on March 17, the terms of the sublease have been set and approved. NVMS’s “Be Instrumental” campaign has raised over $2.8 million in pledges since the quiet phase of fundraising started in 2020. More than 45 individuals have made commitments to the capital campaign.
“When North Valley Music School started over two decades ago, we knew music would thrive in the Flathead. We started by giving lessons in borrowed rooms at local churches and now we find ourselves having outgrown a lovely house that serves over 500 students a year,” said Betsy Kohnstamm, Co-Founder and NVMS Advisor. “Betty Lou Wambeke and everyone involved in the beginning days of the school would be so proud to see the efforts for a new campus and how it is being set up to bring even more music to our area.”
The new campus will have fourteen private studios, an AV and music tech room, a group classroom, an instrument lending library, and a faculty lounge and kitchen. There will be a large multi-purpose room with seating for up to 100 people for recitals and events and ample safe parking. The campus will continue to offer a robust scholarship program and free music programs such as Glee Club, Acoustic Jam, and Veteran’s Learn to Play Guitar.
“The new building will provide NVMS students, teachers, and staff an ideal environment designed for music education,” said Lin Akey, Co-Chair of the “Be Instrumental” capital campaign committee. “We have so many people to thank, from our staff to volunteers, to our donors and vendors who have kindly invested in the vision of building an inclusive and fully accessible music campus that provides the space, technology, flexibility, and resources for a safe and vibrant learning environment for our community into the future.”
To date, NVMS has received over 50% of its $5 million goal in pledges. Reaching that threshold in 2023 will coincide with another historic milestone – the music school’s 25th Anniversary.
For more information on the project, upcoming campaign events, or to make a tax-deductible donation, one can call 406-862-8074 or visit www.nvms.me
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