Music school receives donations, grants

North Valley Music School has recently been the recipient of several grants and donations that will keep students learning music.

The Whitefish Lodge of the Freemasons recently provided a grant of $1,500 toward the school’s scholarship fund. The Margaret Murdock Memorial Fund also provided $5,000 to the scholarship program. The Sorptomists of Whitefish also provided funding.

Deidre Corson, executive director of NVMS, said the scholarship fund at the school has grown over the years, benefiting more and more students. The school has about 40 students taking lessons or participating in classes through the scholarship program.

“The need is growing as more people learn about and are interested in it,” she said. “It’s nice that we can help students, or for students that maybe music is really their thing we can help for one of their lessons so they can take two per month.”

During the school year, the school served 500 registrations with about 350 of those as private lessons.

One of those students who has been studying the piano through a scholarship with the school is D’andre Conant, who says the music school is “safe, nice” atmosphere.

“Music is a second language,” Conant said. “I can’t go a day without playing the piano. I’m always playing the piano.”

The Blake Reese Memorial Fund also provided $5,000 for therapeutic music at the school.

Corson said part of the school’s longterm goals is to create a operations and scholarship endowments that will help sustain programs throughout the school.

In May the Montana Legislature passed the cultural and aesthetic grant funding for Montana Arts Council, which provides $3,500 in general operating support for NVMS. Sponsored by Rep. Tom Woods, D-Bozeman, the bill provides grants of up to $10,000 to 82 programs around the state.

“Not many grants provide for general operations so we try to take advantage of those,” Corson said.

The school received a grant award of $2,000 from the Cadeau Foundation to continue its Glee Club, the school’s free children’s choir for ages 7 to 12. The Glee Club just perfomed at the music school’s Montana Music Event and is set to perform at the grand opening of Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s children’s hospital on June 29.

Karen Pogorzelski leads the Glee Club, which includes up to 35 students, and performs a wide variety of music at evens around the community.

NVMS is once again participating in the Whitefish Community Foundation’s Great Fish Challenge this summer. The school was awarded the Great Fish award last year, which has allowed the school to add programs such as a music technology program that is part of its summer camp program and partnering with the Nurturing Center to bring its Music Together program to preschool and daycares in the area. The school has other new programs planned for fall including restarting its youth orchestra and securing satellite locations in Kalispell and Columbia Falls for programs.

Corson said support for the music school is key to its mission, “no child left untuned.”

“Without our community support, donors and corporate sponsors this wouldn’t be possible,” she said.