Volunteers assist visitors at a Music Village booth during its Block Party community event. The organization relies on volunteers to support programs, workshops and large public gatherings. Photos provided by The Music Village.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
By Maksym Hart
InkFreeNews<\/span><\/h6>\nSOUTH BEND \u2014 The Music Village in downtown South Bend continues to expand its programs and facilities as it works to make music education and live performance opportunities available to people of all ages.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/S-Front-6-26-TMV-Location-500x375.webp\")
<\/p>\nThe exterior of The Music Village in downtown South Bend. The nonprofit community music center provides lessons, instrument rentals, workshops and outreach programming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Executive Director Laura Rea said the nonprofit\u2019s mission is creating community through music and reduce barriers that might prevent people from participating.<\/p>\n
Located near the St. Joseph County Public Library, The Music Village offers private lessons, workshops, instrument rentals and community events. Rea said the organization also provides tuition assistance and free programming in an effort to keep services affordable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that it\u2019s this fundamental part of our humanness to interact with music and to find connection with other people through it,\u201d Rea said.<\/p>\n
Rea described live music as an experience that allows people from different backgrounds to share common ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody can find some common ground in music,\u201d she said. \u201cIt transcends language and it transcends status.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization has expanded significantly since its early days in the basement of the JMF building downtown. Rea said The Music Village now serves more than 250 students with approximately 30 instructors.<\/p>\n
One of its largest public events is the annual block party, which drew roughly 3,700 attendees last year, according to Rea. The festival includes live performances, vendors and activities intended to celebrate the local creative community.<\/p>\n
Volunteer Mark Schurr said the event was one of his earliest experiences with the organization after he became involved through discussions about a planned nonprofit recording studio initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I ever helped with was their annual block party,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cThere were performances by people of all different ages, from kids to seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schurr now volunteers weekly at the front desk and assists with organizing donated instruments. He said one of the most surprising aspects of volunteering has been the wide range of people involved in the organization\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/S-Front-6-26-Saxophone-Pic-500x451.webp\")
<\/p>\nTwo Music Village saxophone players perform. The nonprofit offers music lessons, workshops and live performance opportunities for community members of all ages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe oldest person, in their 90s, is taking guitar lessons for the first time,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cMusic is a lifetime thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rea said volunteers remain critical to the organization\u2019s operations, especially during large events and free community programming. The block party alone requires more than 50 volunteers throughout the day.<\/p>\n
Volunteers also help with workshops, front desk duties and organizing donated instruments and supplies. Community members regularly donate instruments, which are repaired and rented at reduced rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they have a group called the Jammers that meets every Wednesday,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cIt\u2019s people of all different ages playing all kinds of instruments. It\u2019s just fun to watch everybody at all different skill levels playing together and just having fun making music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization is also preparing for a major expansion. Rea said The Music Village is adding approximately 4,000 square feet to its facility, including new classrooms and a recording arts teaching studio intended to provide vocational training and recording experience.<\/p>\n
Schurr said he hopes the recording initiative will connect with more teenagers and young adults interested in music production careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Bend does not have a path into some kind of a career in the recording industry,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cThat would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rea said additional future plans include instrument repair workshops and STEM-related music education programs that explore the science and physics behind music.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always looking for new ideas or suggestions or things that people want to see us do,\u201d Rea said.<\/p>\n
\n <\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.inkfreenews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Volunteers assist visitors at a Music Village booth during its Block Party community event. The organization relies on volunteers to support programs, workshops and large public gatherings. Photos provided by The Music Village. By Maksym HartInkFreeNews SOUTH BEND \u2014 The Music Village in downtown South Bend continues to expand its programs and facilities as it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2441588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2441587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Music-Village-Spreads-Harmony-Through-Lessons-Volunteers-Community-Events-\u2013.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2441589,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587\/revisions\/2441589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2441588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\nThe exterior of The Music Village in downtown South Bend. The nonprofit community music center provides lessons, instrument rentals, workshops and outreach programming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Executive Director Laura Rea said the nonprofit\u2019s mission is creating community through music and reduce barriers that might prevent people from participating.<\/p>\n
Located near the St. Joseph County Public Library, The Music Village offers private lessons, workshops, instrument rentals and community events. Rea said the organization also provides tuition assistance and free programming in an effort to keep services affordable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that it\u2019s this fundamental part of our humanness to interact with music and to find connection with other people through it,\u201d Rea said.<\/p>\n
Rea described live music as an experience that allows people from different backgrounds to share common ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody can find some common ground in music,\u201d she said. \u201cIt transcends language and it transcends status.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization has expanded significantly since its early days in the basement of the JMF building downtown. Rea said The Music Village now serves more than 250 students with approximately 30 instructors.<\/p>\n
One of its largest public events is the annual block party, which drew roughly 3,700 attendees last year, according to Rea. The festival includes live performances, vendors and activities intended to celebrate the local creative community.<\/p>\n
Volunteer Mark Schurr said the event was one of his earliest experiences with the organization after he became involved through discussions about a planned nonprofit recording studio initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I ever helped with was their annual block party,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cThere were performances by people of all different ages, from kids to seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schurr now volunteers weekly at the front desk and assists with organizing donated instruments. He said one of the most surprising aspects of volunteering has been the wide range of people involved in the organization\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nTwo Music Village saxophone players perform. The nonprofit offers music lessons, workshops and live performance opportunities for community members of all ages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe oldest person, in their 90s, is taking guitar lessons for the first time,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cMusic is a lifetime thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rea said volunteers remain critical to the organization\u2019s operations, especially during large events and free community programming. The block party alone requires more than 50 volunteers throughout the day.<\/p>\n
Volunteers also help with workshops, front desk duties and organizing donated instruments and supplies. Community members regularly donate instruments, which are repaired and rented at reduced rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they have a group called the Jammers that meets every Wednesday,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cIt\u2019s people of all different ages playing all kinds of instruments. It\u2019s just fun to watch everybody at all different skill levels playing together and just having fun making music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization is also preparing for a major expansion. Rea said The Music Village is adding approximately 4,000 square feet to its facility, including new classrooms and a recording arts teaching studio intended to provide vocational training and recording experience.<\/p>\n
Schurr said he hopes the recording initiative will connect with more teenagers and young adults interested in music production careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Bend does not have a path into some kind of a career in the recording industry,\u201d Schurr said. \u201cThat would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rea said additional future plans include instrument repair workshops and STEM-related music education programs that explore the science and physics behind music.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always looking for new ideas or suggestions or things that people want to see us do,\u201d Rea said.<\/p>\n
\n <\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.inkfreenews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Volunteers assist visitors at a Music Village booth during its Block Party community event. The organization relies on volunteers to support programs, workshops and large public gatherings. Photos provided by The Music Village. By Maksym HartInkFreeNews SOUTH BEND \u2014 The Music Village in downtown South Bend continues to expand its programs and facilities as it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2441588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2441587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Music-Village-Spreads-Harmony-Through-Lessons-Volunteers-Community-Events-\u2013.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2441589,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441587\/revisions\/2441589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2441588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}