The School of American Music has combined an internal need to grow and the vacancy of the building that formerly housed the Three Oaks Village Hall into a project that is bringing education, entertainment, and a cultural destination to teens and others in the region.

The Three Oaks Arts and Education Center, located just east of the village, opened in early 2015, and already hosts a variety of classes and events, with plans and hopes for much more in the future. According to music instructor Evan Margol, the first threads of ideas for the A&E came when the School Of American Music (SAM) was discussing a method to improve their current location.

“The SAM is located above the library here in Three Oaks,” Margol explains. He went on to describe a scenario in which, after much trial and error, he was just connecting with a student. “Sometimes, you’d have your last student of the day and you’d just be getting the mood where you needed [to be] and you’d have to call it quits because the library downstairs was closing.”

Hoping to no longer be tied to hours outside of their control, Margol and other instructors saw a solution in the open building on Maple Street.

“We worked about two months to get the building ready,” Margol explained as he pointed out the soundproofing and acoustic renovations he and others made in preparing the center.

The School of American Music has given classes for a variety of instruments for three years, but this new project is about more than just lessons. The building is equipped with a recording studio and a live performing stage. The facility also plans to add an outdoor performance space. In addition to guitar lessons, Margol himself is teaching a studio recording class in the hopes to show artists that modern technology has made pursuing their craft much easier.

In its short time in existence, the scope of the Arts & Entertainment Center’s vision has quickly grown to incorporate more than music. The space is also being utilized by a number of instructors educating students of all ages in the areas of storytelling, language, and martial arts. The building offers yoga classes, a teen night each Friday, and a Thursday night jam session open to any musician who wants to come to learn and connect with others.

According to Margol, the response from locals has been positive. He points out a growing need for art and music education, in a world where many students are either home schooled or go to public schools that don’t have the budgets for those classes. The first line of the official A&E Center Mission Statement defines it as a “place where children can focus on subjects not emphasized in the public school.” In addition to regular classes, they plan to offer internships for students with a goal for a related career.

The Center is also open to an expansion of classes and workshops, with those wishing to teach a subject or propose a course encouraged to do so. Fall courses include music history, music theory, and a wilderness and culture class. The owners hope the facility will become a center for local culture, giving teens, seniors and anyone else a place to gather, volunteer and learn.

You can view a list of current and upcoming classes, as well as the forms for volunteering, teaching, and course proposal, at schoolofamericanmusic.com

 

Justin Flagel is the founder of the web magazine and podcast Anywhere the Needle Drops, where he and others showcase their interest in music, pop culture, creativity and life. Follow their work at anywheretheneedledrops.com. Feedback can be directed to contact@anywheretheneedledrops.com.