community music school history
Community Music School is an independent, nonprofit school which began as a pilot program in the summer of 1980. Patricia Hurley, the school’s founder and artistic director, had a vision to enrich students’ lives with musical opportunities beyond the public school programs.
Our doors opened as a music school in September, 1983, dedicated to outstanding voice and instrumental instruction for children and adults. Our first 43 students and 12 teachers met every week at the Town Hall and in various locations around Essex until 1991, when we established a permanent home at Spencer’s Corner in Centerbrook, adjacent to the Essex Elementary School. Here we were finally able to provide students with soundproof studios and a wide-reaching program of offerings. Today, after our first quarter century, we continue our programs of musical excellence. Our dedicated faculty offers private, group or ensemble instruction to nearly 600 students from over twenty-five towns throughout the Connecticut Valley-Shore area. Our 6,000-square-foot facility houses 17 studios.
We are proud to be a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and to follow that organization’s Code of Best Practices.
Our Mission Statement
To provide a full range of the finest possible instruction and musical opportunities to persons of all ages and abilities, to increase appreciation of music and to encourage a sense of joy in learning and performing, thus enriching the life of the community.