Music center in Yarmouth to celebrate its $6.5 million expansion

Yarmouth’s 317 Main Community Music Center will celebrate its expansion with a grand opening next week after nearly four years of renovations costing a total of $6.5 million.

Executive Director John Williams said the expansion will double the center’s music teaching capacity and provide more opportunities for music sharing. Classrooms and studios, cafes and pubs, recording studios, and community gathering spaces will be added, and the center will host concerts, film series, and other events.

“I think people are shocked by what’s made here,” Williams said.

Musicians converge in the new Founders Hall at 317 Main. Contribution / Lisa Frates

The grand opening will begin on Friday, June 23rd at 10am with a ribbon cutting followed by talks, tours and live music.

Founded in 2004, the non-profit closed this history in 2015 despite the need for renovations due to the importance of its Main Street site to its mission to strengthen community ties through music. Mr. Williams said he purchased the building. Architectural firm Paul Designs Project was hired in 2019 and plans for the building began to take shape.

The goal of the renovation was to create a space that would not only meet the needs of a music center, but also fit the style and scale of Yarmouth Village.

“We needed to create 10 more classrooms, a 200-seat multi-purpose performance space, and other community gathering spaces,” Williams said. “It wasn’t easy.”

Funding for this project began in 2020. Originally estimated at $3.2 million, he increased the cost of the project to $5.2 million due to material shortages, labor shortages and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. He added an $800,000 buffer for unexpected expenses, bringing the total cost to just over $6 million for him.

In fundraising alone, 317 Main has raised approximately $4.2 million for renovations. A $1.5 million grant from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott in 2020 also funded the renovation.

Development director Marshall Wallach said the renovation will allow 317 Main to function not only as a music school, but also as a community hub.

“This place was founded as a way to do bigger things,” Wallach said. “We can be a new kind of community resource, not just for Yarmouth, but for other communities around us.”

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