Our Mission

Enriching lives and Building Community through classical music

Lyra Music was founded in 2010, with the vision of enhancing the lives of young musicians and enriching communities through classical music training and performance. A multi-faceted, non-profit organization, Lyra Music produces a summer music festival in tandem with a pre-professional young artist performance program.

We seek to contribute meaningfully to the cultural richness of the Hudson Valley and to expand access to live classical music events. Music brings people together and for two weeks each summer, we strive to create a variety of opportunities for audiences, from formal chamber music performances to family-friendly outreach concerts. Lyra provides aspiring young musicians the training they need to excel and gives the community access to world-class concerts and free outreach programs performed by Lyra Music guest artists, faculty artists, and young artists. We are dedicated to inspiring tomorrow’s musicians and today’s audiences, breaking through stereotypes and barriers by bringing classical music out of the concert hall and into the community and providing free and pay-what-you-can ticket options for concert events.

The Lyra Music Young Artist Performance Program is a residential, conservatory-style classical summer music program. Originating in Vermont in 2010 and moving to Western Massachusetts in 2016, the Lyra Music Festival relocated and settled in New York’s Hudson Valley in the summer of 2022. Lyra students are young musicians, ages 13-18, immersed in a supportive, nurturing community where they live, work, and play with their peers and the dedicated Lyra faculty, staff, and guest artists-in-residence. Lyra’s Hudson Valley Festival is a performance-based program, providing a pre-professional touring experience for string players and pianists seeking an opportunity to hone solo and chamber performance and related skills. Young musicians will be inspired by the intensive study of solo and chamber music repertoire with Lyra Music Guest Artists-in-Residence and a focus on performance technique in a variety of settings, including indoor and outdoor outreach concerts, a final gala student event, and invaluable opportunities to participate in and attend masterclasses and concerts produced for the Lyra Music Festival and performed by world-class guest artists. Lyra Music supports the musical, emotional, and personal development of every participant through a non-competitive environment where students are encouraged to reach their full potential. Need-based financial aid is available.

The Lyra Music Festival presents world-class musicians in concert and masterclasses with Lyra Music young artists and provides an opportunity for Lyra’s young musicians to experience the life of a professional musician on tour, through an intensive chamber and solo performance schedule in a variety of settings. The Lyra Festival comprises traditional classical chamber performances and engages new audiences and classical music lovers alike through free outreach concerts bringing live classical music out of the concert hall and into the community.

The Lyra Music Youth Competition motivates young musicians to work to their full potential, while providing invaluable experience and meaningful performance feedback, as well as cash prizes or scholarships to the Lyra Music Young Artist Program.

We design every component of Lyra Music programming to work synergistically towards the goals of training young classical musicians and building community through world-class concerts and free-outreach events. Lyra is proud to inspire and nurture tomorrow’s musicians and music audiences today.

Lyra Music is a 501c3 non-profit organization grateful to a community of dedicated supporters whose generosity helps Lyra thrive. Join us! 

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity,
Accessibility, and inclusion

Music is universal, a shared language, and a fundamental artistic expression of our humanity. We believe that artistic learning and artistic excellence thrive when world-class artists and educators, aspiring musicians, and audiences from varied backgrounds and identities share, learn, and create together. Similarly, we believe that connecting through music can help build a better, more humane, and more just world.

While classical music has long established traditions, we recognize that access to performance spaces, training, and opportunities within its sphere have not always been equitable. We are committed to a more inclusive and welcoming model of festival production and young artist training that is reflective of the communities we serve.

Within our organization we:

- Seek diverse leadership, board membership, staffing, faculty artists, and guest artists to ensure meaningful representation and mentorship.

- Provide need-based scholarships, implement inclusive recruitment practices, and engage in targeted outreach to students from historically underrepresented and underserved communities.

- Work to remove financial, cultural, and structural barriers that may prevent full participation for artists, students, or audience members.

- Cultivate an environment where professional artists, students, staff, volunteers, and audiences feel respected, valued, and safe.

The values of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are crucial to the growth and development of classical music in the contemporary world. These commitments are rooted in our mission. By creating an environment where all artists and audience members feel valued and supported, we strengthen our community and contribute to the transformative power of music in our lives.