Village Music – Bringing the Music Community Together
By Krista Martinelli
“When we opened Village Music in November of 2012, there was no other music shop in Wellington for kids to take lessons at,” says Steve Willey. “We both love music and we wanted to share our love of music,” says Donna Willey. Previously, Steve had a Village Music shop in Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, for 10 years. The Willeys truly love what they do.
Currently located in the Fresh Market plaza, they are excited to be moving to a stand alone building near Barnes & Noble that is more than twice as big as their current space. In the building that was previously Citibank by the Mall at 10410 Forest Hill Boulevard, they will be able to offer many more programs. “We will have rock camps, band camps, birthday parties, ukulele circles, drum circles, a music café, open mic nights, performances by the students and performances by local talent,” Donna says. Donna and Steve are visibly excited about the prospect of expanding their offerings and reaching more people. “We will have better visibility there and more traffic,” says Steve.
The move will happen late summer or early fall. And yes, there will be a big Grand Opening event. “We would like to have performances well into the night,” says Donna.
In the new location, they will have 9 or 10 lesson rooms, a café with a stage and outdoor seating. Having a stage in a coffee shop will allow for their students to perform on a regular basis. They also plan to have a number of different music events, including music clinics. Village Music is now an official dealer of Martin guitars. So they plan to have some clinics with Martin artists.
They already see a great number of students currently with approximately 300 students and 17 instructors. They teach lessons in guitar, ukulele, drums, percussion, piano, violin, voice, cello, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute, sax and banjo. “We have had harp and French horn in the past,” says Donna. “Also, we can find a teacher for any instrument. If there’s a need, we find a way.”
I asked how music connected Donna and Steve. “We met in Slovenia originally,” says Steve. “I was in the army, and Donna was a tour guide. We used to sit up at night listening to music together.” They were re-united 23 years later when Steve found Donna on Facebook. He asked if she liked the song that he had written for her and sent to her. She had moved and never received it. So 23 years later, Steve played the song, “Donna, Sweet Donna” for his true love. Donna was in Germany and Steve was in Boston at the time. Steve found out Donna would be coming to the Boston area for a conference, and he bought tickets to the 40 year reunion tour of James Taylor and Carole King.
The re-kindling of their romance took off quite quickly – with a little help from music and soon Steve realized that he wanted to be with Donna again. So he sold his music shop to be with her in Europe. Soon after, they were looking for a place to settle down in the United States. They wanted a warm climate, A-rated schools and a good demographic for their music store that they would open together. They settled on Wellington, FL. “We ended up being a really good team,” explains Donna. Steve is good with music sales, and Donna has her MBA, so she handles more of the business and marketing side of things. They both teach lessons. Steve teaches ukulele and guitar, while Donna teaches piano.
“I just love watching kids and adults develop as musicians and grow in their love of music. I hear them every week, when I listen to the music coming out of every practice room and it’s amazing to hear the improvement. This year’s recital brought tears to my eyes,” says Donna.
“We’re going on five years here, and I had my other store for 10 years. It’s great to see kids go off to college, come back and still have music in their lives. Teaching music is a way of giving back. Sometimes music helps someone who is struggling. We have students who have autism, ADHD, hyperactivity and other issues. It’s wonderful to see how music enriches people’s lives,” says Steve.
There are many studies that show that children involved in music have more balanced brain (right brain vs. left brain), higher math scores, higher SAT scores and more ability to focus. Studying music increases the neuroplasticity of the brain, making it easier to learn languages and math. “Later in life, it makes you a more balanced person,” says Donna. She cites a study of 100 of the Fortune 500 CEO’s. Every single one of them had music in their development as a child, without a single exception.
The Willeys are proud of their exceptional teaching staff. “We go through a grueling process to find just the right teachers, but we always do,” says Donna.
“We are blessed to be able to do this and happy to have become an integral part of the Wellington community,” says Donna. “The new store will be more than just a music store – it will be a community hub for music in Wellington,” says Steve.
Village Music Wellington
10660 W. Forest Hill Blvd
Wellington, FL 33414
Telephone (561) 798-5334