The 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth supports more than 30 music ensembles, but overcrowding has prompted a $3 million addition. Pictured, from left, are Chris Moore, Ellen Gawler, Ted DeMille and Nina Miller jamming last fall. Courtesy / 317 Main Community Music Center
YARMOUTH — A $3 million expansion of the 317 Main Community Music Center will double the size and include new studios and a new multi-purpose performance hall.
The Planning Board got its first look at the project Jan. 22. 317 Main Executive Director John Williams said the goal is to break ground sometime in 2020. Although the center has just started its fundraising campaign, “we’re very confident we can raise what’s needed.”
The music center held one meeting this week to introduce the project to the wider community and is planning a second session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26.
The 317 Main Community Music Center is hoping to build 9,300-square-foot addition at its current location off Main Street in Yarmouth. Courtesy / Paul Lewandowski
Amy Sinclair, director of communications at 317 Main, said this week that the center has experienced “sustained and steady growth” over the past 10 years and that “every bit of available space in this building is maxed out.”
The music center was founded in 2004 by Peter Milliken in a historic Italianate-style house, originally built in 1855 for Capt. Sylvanus Blanchard.
The house is on the National Register of Historic Places and, according to project architect Paul Lewandowski, it’s hoped the expansion will make it “slightly more contemporary while being respectful of the (original) architectural history.”
Along with new studios and a performance hall, the addition will include a new kitchen and cafe, an outdoor courtyard and performance space, a “music garden,” and a large deck. There will also be space for early childhood music education, according to Lewandowski.
The 9,300-square-foot addition will be built behind the current house and will share parking space with the Masonic Lodge at the end of Mill Street.
The music center serves nearly 600 students of all ages from 40 communities across southern Maine, who take lessons and participate in ensembles, jams, workshops and special programming.
The 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth is located in an 1855 Italianate-style home that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. Kate Irish Collins / The Forecaster
“We can no longer accommodate all the requests for private lessons because of space limitations … and we can’t develop new programs in areas of demonstrated need because we simply don’t have the room,” said Williams, the executive director, in a press release.
The music center has the potential to be a statewide resource, he said, especially for traditional folk music and dancing.
“We’re already a community hub and we’ve seen tremendous growth. I feel we’re just getting started with what’s possible,” he said.
Fred Frawley, chair of the 317 Main board, said this week that the music center provides a place for people to “connect with each other” and that “something special happens when people come through the door.”
Linda Libby, who lives in South Portland, became a 317 Main devotee a few years ago when she started taking ukulele lessons. Since then she’s joined a women’s vocal group called the Showerheads.
Libby said this week that the music center provides a “welcoming and supportive environment” and said “making music together is an incredible experience. If I can learn to make music, anyone can.”
“We really believe that music is a beautiful vehicle to bring people together, that’s why we exist,” Sinclair added.
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