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Operating from a small storefront on Westminster Street in Providence’s West End neighborhood, which they purchased in 2001, the organization grew into a thriving, award-winning nonprofit connecting musicians with the community as educators, performers, and mentors. CMW students came to envision themselves as artists and as citizens with an important voice.

Rhode Island Foundation started supporting the organization in 2005 and has provided more than $7 million in funding over the past twenty years.

Sebastian often pondered “But what if we had more than a little storefront?”

In December 2017, CMW purchased an empty lot at 1326 Westminster Street, just one block from its storefront, and engaged an architectural firm to create preliminary designs for the Community MusicWorks Center. The design was driven not only by the wants and needs of CMW, but also the odd shape of the lot—a parallelogram that had previously been home to an automotive repair shop.

Providence-based architecture firm 3SIX0 designed the Community MusicWorks Center to be constructed out of mass timber, only the second building in Rhode Island to be using the material as the structure of a building. The building reduces carbon-emitting steel and concrete production by using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) as the structure.

The wood-paneled building with angles jutting over Westminster Street sidewalk, is literally breathtaking. The second floor and the basement have ample space for instrument storage, practice rooms, lounges, and more. One floor flows to the next from the triangular negative spaces, floating floors and skylights. Inside and outside the performance space, they used balconies and stairs to create a "whirlpool" effect.

There was palpable energy in the hundreds of people who came for the grand opening—former students, friends and families from the community, alums from the early years who flew in from other parts of the country. “It validated something we were hoping for … it was as if the whole community in all its diversity turned out. It was always about seeing what’s possible. Music brings people together. It’s about bringing young people into the practice of creating music and creating community events around music. 

“The students know how special this new ‘home’ is. Such beautiful space and so much of it is what they deserve. Just because a young person grows up in limited circumstances and limited means does not mean they cannot be a citizen of the world. ‘This is where I make music because it’s where I deserve to make music.’ It's what the staff deserves, what the children deserve, and what the music deserves.”

The $15 million jewel is completely paid for, and CMW did not just turn the capital campaign over to a consultant. “We knew we had to be all in it as well. It was important to be out in front with our donors, ‘this is what we’re thinking about—what do you think—what are your concerns—can you see yourself being involved? And our donors reciprocated—they have a great deal of confidence in our organization. They know what we’re trying to do. And if there is a lot of energy behind it, the money will follow.”

In June 2021 MacKenzie Scott, one of the wealthiest women in the world, announced that she would be giving away $2.74 billion to 286 organizations to combat racial discrimination in the arts— including one non-profit in Rhode Island: Community MusicWorks received an unsolicited $1.5 million.

Sebastian’s entire adult life has been lived through CMW. “It is the defining element of my professional identity and the defining element in many of my friendships. I feel so lucky to have work that helps me develop as a person, as a musician. It challenges me constantly. I can’t think of much else I would rather be doing than thinking about how our world intersects with art. Music can tap into something that’s true and can be felt regardless of your level of knowledge. If it’s true, good, or embodies the spirit, everyone feels it. It’s magical."

“If I had to choose a piece of music to represent CMW, it’s the Bach Chaconne. It’s part of an old, if not ancient, tradition. There is a kind of mystical unknowingness about it. You can’t quite put your finger on everything it means because it’s aspiring to attain within it something more than the sum of its parts. There’s endless variation; it takes endurance to get through it or to listen to it; and you can keep working at it for a long time and still feel like you’re always starting.”

With contributions from an interview by CMW Fellow Josie Davis.