WHITEFISH - A full recital hall, private studio rooms, and state-of-the-art acoustics are all features of the brand new North Valley Music School building in Whitefish.
The school was founded in 1997 and began with humble roots.
“We started at the Methodist Church, the Old Methodist Church, and then were able to buy a house on Spokane,” NVMS instructor Dan Kohnstamm told MTN.
Check out the new North Valley Music School building in Whitefish:
The school grew rapidly at 432 Spokane Avenue, with limited music opportunities for students.
“It was a cozy little 100-year-old building, but we were bursting at the seams. We had a huge waiting list; we couldn't really accommodate as many students that wanted music lessons,” NVMS Board President Christine Rossi said.
The idea for the new building first sparked over a decade ago, and the rest is history.
“It's truly a community asset, it's a community project, and we are proud for this to be our new home,” Rossi exclaimed.
The funding of the school was a full community effort, and it could not have been completed without each donation, big or small.
Watch previous coverage: North Valley Music School reaches fundraising goal for new school building
“There were small kids who would bring their piggy banks down, break them open and say, I want this,” NVMS donor Jim Stack told MTN.
Jim and Lisa Stack, who believe in the power of music, were the two donors who pushed the funding goal over the finish line.
“They're all here for one reason and it's music. That's because it's what built their lives and it's what they want to give back to their community," Stack said.
After so many years of waiting, the ribbon was finally cut, and the new North Valley Music School will produce many talented musicians for years to come.
“It just proves how important music education and the arts are to this wonderful area that we live in, and I'm just blown away, I'm really blown away,” Rossi told MTN.
