North Valley Music School receives $500,000 grant

North Valley Music School received a grant for $500,000 from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for its capital campaign to build a new music school and campus in Whitefish.

The grant award brings the school closer to its campaign goal of $7.5 million. The school still needs $785,000 to fund the project completely.

“Over the past five years, student enrollment has grown by 30%. With over 100 students currently on the waitlist, Montana’s only nonprofit community music school is in dire need of more space to continue meeting the explosive demand for music education,” said Executive Director Deidre Corson. “We are deeply grateful to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. They are an integral part of the village it’s taken to make this dream come to fruition.”

In 2022, North Valley Music School launched a capital campaign to raise $7.5 million to build a new facility, including a $1 million operating endowment. The new school will host 8,100 square feet of multi-use space on approximately two acres donated by Project Whitefish Kids and the City of Whitefish.

This will allow the organization to serve up to 3,000 students annually. The acoustically-sound building will have many features including a 100-seat performance space, 15 private studios, a large group classroom and a safe drop-off area with ample parking.

More than 650 donors contributed to the Be Instrumental campaign. In January the North Valley Music School Board of Directors voted to start construction, which began in May 2024.

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest that seek to strengthen the region’s educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways.

To donate and learn more about the Be Instrumental capital campaign, please visit www.nvms.me or contact Deidre Corson at deidre@northvalleymusicschool.org or 406-862-8074.