Groundwork is 317 Main's commitment to Maine's emerging musicians and arts organizations, offering space, mentorship, and hands-on support to help promising work become sustainable. Drawing on more than two decades of experience building community through music, 317 invests its campus, expertise, and network in artists and organizations at a pivotal stage of growth.
Songs From Here: Scrapbook
Songs From Here is a Maine-based initiative that supports locally-written art song, melodies for voice and piano designed to be shared in intimate performance settings.
Founded in 2021 by vocalist Sarah Tuttle, Songs From Here has since commissioned dozens of
melodies from Maine's composers and presented them in performances around the state; in
barns, libraries, and concert halls, from Saco to Surry and beyond.
Now in their fifth concert season, Sarah and pianist Bridget Convey present “Scrapbook,” a
retrospective program that features 100% Maine-made music. You’ll hear selections from a
variety of Maine composers, all commissioned by Songs From Here over the past five
Years!
The program includes melodies by emerging composers Scott Barber and Emmalynn Craft,
as well as songs by John Newell that reflect on the beauty and wonder of Maine’s creatures.
Selections from Erica Ball’s Songs From Here suites meditate on abandoned apple trees,
simmering stockpots, and remote resting places, and folksong arrangements from Michael
Atkinson and Neil Pearlman highlight Maine’s deep ties to work in the woods and on the
Sea.
About 317 Main’s Groundwork: Artist & Organization Development program
We believe Maine's musical ecosystem grows stronger when the people building it have somewhere to call home.
Across Maine, musicians, bands, and emerging arts organizations are doing extraordinary work, yet without the infrastructure to sustain or grow it.
For more than 20 years, 317 Main Community Music Center has been a place where musicians, artists, neighbors, and families have come together to community through the unique power of music.
This year, 317 is leveraging that experience to invest back into the people and organizations that make Maine such a special place, committing its physical, structural, and creative resources toward the growth and development of our state’s burgeoning artists, collectives, and non-profits.
We call this commitment Groundwork.
Groundwork provides space, mentorship, and resources to help musicians and cultural organizations move from promising to sustainable by offering the infrastructure, access, and hands-on support to people at a pivotal stage in their growth.
This is a direct extension of 317 Main's mission: to build community through music. We understand and appreciate the unique characteristics that have enabled 317 to be among the most beloved community music centers in New England: a new 10,000 sq. foot campus, rehearsal space, ensemble rooms, a multi-use concert hall, recording studio, outdoor amphitheater, and yes, ample parking. Through Groundwork, we are able to provide these resources—alongside more than two decades of experience and expertise—to artists and organizations, wherever they are in their journey.
Groundwork exists because we believe Maine's musical ecosystem grows stronger when the people building it have somewhere to call home.