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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
~317 Student Showcase~
Tuesday, May 31, 7 pm
First Parish Congregational Church
116 Main Street
Tickets $5 at the door
~Yarmouth Farmers'~ Market Returns
to
317 Main Community Music Center
Thursdays, 3-6 pm
June 2nd-September 29
16 regular vendors PLUS weekly guests and live music on the
porch.
Join Us For The Annual
~317 House Party~
Live Auction - Fun
Thursday, June 16th, 6-9 pm
Tickets $50 online or at door.
~Jodi Edwards~
"Spring"
A Series of Acrylic Panels
on display through June 30th
Gallery Hours 10-2 pm
Monday - Friday
or
by appointment.
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* * * * *
MAKE MUSIC WITH US THIS SUMMER!
* * * * *
~Acoustic Discovery~ Camp
(Ages 6-10)
- July 11-15
- July 18-22
- August 1-5
~Acoustic Jam Camp~
(Ages 10-14)
Camp runs 9-4 pm. Aftercare is avail. until 5:30 pm
Click
here for prices and details
~Private Lessons~
Flexible 5 Pack
You and instructor select 5 dates that work for YOU
A La Carte
Sign up one lesson at a time
Click
here for pricing and details
REGISTRATION FOR SUMMER CAMP IS ONGOING
REGISTRATION FOR SUMMER LESSONS BEGINS JUNE 6
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COMINGS & GOINGS
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WELCOME JOEL!
J
OEL HARRIS is a principal at HM Payson, a Portland based investment advisory firm.
He has had an on-again, off-again relationship with his guitars (acoustic and electric) for over 40 years.
By
getting involved at 317 Main, he hopes to focus his wide range of musical interests and begin playing with humans instead of YouTube. Joel and his wife, Talie, have 3 grown children and live in Cumberland.
CONGRATULATIONS ALICE!
ALICE OUTSLAY our beloved registrar, marathon runner and dog lover, is leaving us June 17th to take her dream job with the Falmouth Parks and Community Programs Department.
Her new position will allow her to pursue her two greatest passions, teaching and coaching. Please join us in wishing Alice well in her new job.
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FUNDRAISING UPDATE
Molly Burk/ Director of Development
We have just $50,000 remaining to be raised by June 30th to meet our $400,000 fundraising goal for this fiscal year. Your support makes a difference in the lives of students across Maine.
Thank you to all of you who have already made a gift!
Recent Grants To Support 317 Main
The Quimby Family Foundation awarded 317 Main a $35,000 grant to support general operations to ensure broad access to music education.
Horizon Foundation awarded 317 Main a $15,000 grant to support our energy efficiency upgrades funded in part by Grants to Green Maine.
Thank you to our wonderful supporters!
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SAVE THE DATE
317 Main's annual music festival for the whole family
Sunday, September 11, 2016
12-6pm
A bike ride to benefit 317 Main presented by Maine Beer Company
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
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WE NEED VOLUNTEERS
Do You Want To...
- Help at HenryFest?
- Volunteer at Farmers' Market?
- Play music at Farmers' Market?
- Help in the Art Gallery?
- Assist in mailings?
- Do something not listed here?
We would love to hear from you. Please contact our business manager Anne Coleman at 846-9559 or [email protected]
Thank You For Supporting 317 Main!
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A LETTER
FROM E
XECU
TIVE
DIRECTOR
JOHN WILLIAMS
Can you imagine a world without music?
The average American listens to four hours of music each day. Throughout time, people have found meaning through playing, creating, and listening to music. Playing and listening to music is a basic human activity and I argue that music makes the world a better place for all of us!
The vibrant and compelling community music scene that defines 317 Main would not exist if it were not for the group of exceptionally talented teaching artists that comprise our faculty. "Teaching artist," as defined by actor and author Eric Booth
"is a practicing professional artist with the complementary skills and sensibilities of an educator, who engages people in learning experiences in, through, and about the arts."
Without exception, the teaching artists at 317 Main all work hard to assemble and balance a livelihood that includes professional performance, teaching, and in some cases other vocational interests.
Though not an easy way to earn a living, all of the teaching artists at 317 Main truly enjoy the inherent challenges and rewards associated with teaching, encouraging, supporting, and befriending aspiring and accomplished musicians of all ages and abilities, and being part of a community of music.
Please join me in giving a big shout out and offering a sincere THANK YOU to the teaching artists at 317 Main who teach us, play for us, and help to make our world a better place!
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Number of 317 Main Teaching Artists
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26 |
| Number of instruments taught at 317 |
14 |
| Number of instruments 317 teaching artists know how to play |
57
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TEACHING ARTIST TYLER STANLEY
KEEPS MAINERS IN STITCHES
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"I like to fix things." Teaching Artist Tyler Stanley repairs an ailing machine at The Sewing Machine Exchange.
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You may have noticed that 317 Main refers to its instructors as Teaching Artists. The title makes reference to their dual career as practicing, professional artists and music educators.
But some of our teaching artists also have professional lives that are unrelated to their careers in music, among them Tyler Stanley.
317 Main students know Stanley as a talented pianist and teacher. They might be surprised to learn he is also the owner/operator of The Sewing Machine Exchange in Falmouth.
Stanley says he came to this line of work via the family tree. His mother, Kathy, ran Sew Portland for many years and when the machines needed servicing or broke down, she turned to her son.
"I've always liked fixing things," he said recently, hunkered down with a screwdriver in his hand over an ailing Kenmore.
Over the years, he taught himself how to service and repair Pfaffs, Husqvarnas, Vikings and just about any other machine that came into the shop. When his mother moved her business Downeast, Stanley decided to open up his own repair shop in Falmouth.
He says he finds it interesting that a century ago, both pianos and sewing machines were fixtures in Maine homes. He says he likes having a hand in the continuity of these two mainstays.
"I love to show people how to use the old machines they've inherited from parents and grandparents," he said. And Stanley
finds a thread between his two careers that others may miss.
"A sewing machine is like an instrument because it helps you create something," he said.
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Tyler and Emma Stanley of
Native Isles performing "Four" at Noon Tunes
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Tyler says owning his own business works well with his life as an musician and father of a young child.
He is able to set hours that leave time for his young family and allow him to practice and play in Native Isles, a band he started with his sister, trumpeter Emma Stanley.
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TEACHING ARTIST STEVE ROY
DELVES INTO DREAM FOR INSPIRATION
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Teaching Artist Steve Roy
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Artists are always looking for creative inspiration. For some, songwriting is a discipline that must be practiced daily. Others work in intense bursts then walk away.
There are composers who must work in co
mplete silence and those who can only create in the noisy din of a coffee shop.
And on occasion, though artists will say not often enough, a song presents itself fully formed.
317 Main Teaching Artist Steve Roy says his recent composition "Snapper's Dream" came to him in a vivid dream starring a gang of snapping turtles.
"I always loved catching turtles when I was a kid," Roy said, pondering this unlikely muse.
In the dream, Roy said he was at an outdoor festival and spotted a cave-like opening in the ground. When he climbed in to explore, he came upon a workforce of snapping turtles, all digging holes and humming a song.
"It was like a cross between a whistle and a hum," he recalled. And
right away, he says he recognized that it was "a cool tune."
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Steve Roy playing Snapper's Dream
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"I woke up, sang it into my phone and fell back asleep," he said.
The next day he wrote down the notes and share it with other instructors.
"It's a good teaching tune because it's relatively simple to play and offers a good lesson in minor scale," said Roy.
He says the provenance of "Snapper's Dream" presents a lesson for students who are searching for inspiration.
"A
s soon as you get an idea write it down," advised Roy. Inspiration can be fleeting.
While we probably shouldn't count on dreams to churn out the next masterpiece, it does happen. Among the famous songs their creators say emerged from dreams - the melody for Paul McCartney's "Yesterday," Keith Richard's "Satisfaction," and "The Man Comes Around," by Johnny Cash.
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PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: 317 MAIN AT BAXTER ACADEMY
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Morgan Wass, 17, playing drums and flute with Rylee Sinclair,17, on ukulele at Baxter Academy
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Morgan Wass, 17, says she wrestled with the decision to leave Massabesic High School in favor of Baxter Academy for Technology and Science in Portland.
She knew the charter school would be a better fit academically, but she was hesitant to leave the high school's well established music program. The Junior is an accomplished clarinet player, who also plays flute and percussion.
"I was really active in the school band," she recalled. Like many other charter schools, Baxter Academy doesn't have a traditional music program. This is one of the areas where 317 Main's Partnership Programs are filling the gap.
This spring, 317 Main teaching artists are making music in seven schools, including East End Community School, Wayfinder, Casco Bay High School, Rowe School, Yarmouth Elementary School, North Yarmouth Academy and Baxter Academy.
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Baxter Academy Students rehearsing "Cheer Up"
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Wass is one of five Baxter students who signed up for a Blues Ensemble with teaching artist Kate Campbell Strauss. Another seven students are studying voice with partnership educator Jeff Christmas.
Campbell Strauss says she started the semester teaching the history of the blues and slowly wove in more playing as she became familiar with the students' interests and playing ability.
"I try to arrange the songs to showcase the skills of each student while also challenging them to take some risks," she says.
Now nearing the end of the semester the ensemble is preparing to put on a concert.
"It's just been really nice to have an opportunity to play music at our school," said Griffin Gingrich, 17, who sings and plays ukelele with the group.
True to her teacher's goal, Wass has pushed herself.
"I don't usually sing," she said. On another song, she's playing flute while keeping time on the drums - not an easy feat.
While she sometimes misses her old high school band, Wass says she has discovered something new.
"It's cool to be doing music in a looser, more creative way," she said.
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