By: Emma DeLaRosa and Olivia Marcino
WASHINGTON D.C. — When walking down Wisconsin Avenue in Tenleytown, the love for music in Middle C Music Store is hard to miss — whether it’s the colorful, hand-painted cartoons on the storefront windows, the dedicated staff or the summer rock band camps that give the store a fun-loving (and loud) distinction. Even the bathroom in Middle C projects musical enthusiasm, with sheet music wallpaper and a guitar lamp next to the sink.
The inviting storefront of Middle C Music includes painted cartoons on the windows.
Middle C offers lessons, sheet music, instruments, repairs, and accessories — the only music store in Washington, D.C., to offer all of these things. The staff especially pushes involvement in music education and aims to keep live music afloat in a time of electronic instruments.
Middle C Music has been a pioneer of music and education, with the accomplishments to show it. The owner of the store, Myrna Sislen, began in 2002 when she took over and transformed Middle C Music from a struggling business to an established local music store.
Widespread music education is one of Sislen’s highest priorities, which is why she has partnered with the Landfill Harmonic. The Landfill Harmonic is a group of children from the lower-income neighborhoods of Paraguay who formed an orchestra with instruments made from things found in the landfill. Sislen was the first to donate real instruments, giving them 39 band and orchestra instruments so the group could make more traditional music. Sislen said she finds it important to uphold global music education. “In order to survive and to be successful, we cannot be only within these walls,” Sislen said.
The store has a variety of instruments and sheet music that customers can rent or buy.
Sislen is also proud of her political accomplishments regarding music education and outreach. “She has connections to the mayor of D.C. in making sure that people are being elected that are going to be funding music programs,” Missy Curl, outreach representative of the store said. “She is really well-connected in that community.”
With three resolutions passed in Middle C’s honor and three proclamations signed by the mayor, the political impact of Middle C Music is hard to ignore. In addition, the store promotes music outreach and education by hosting events such as their Make Music Day back in June, regular recitals and programs such as a children’s rock band summer camp.
Recently, the store has focused on reaching out to schools to enhance their music education. “I’ve been focusing on schools and contacting teachers to make sure that we’re providing them with everything that they need,” Curl said. “They’re sending their students here to take private lessons and we can help them with instrument-repairs.” Although music outreach can be a challenge because it is “difficult to get the word out,” according to Curl, Middle C Music Store continuously finds ways to push for it.
When thinking of cities that pertain to music and entertainment, the nation’s capital may not immediately come to mind. Middle C recognizes this, and pushes the involvement in music throughout the area. Curl says that the classical music community in D.C. is still alive and thriving. But Curl said she believes that the popularity of jazz music is declining and electronic music is becoming more prominent.
Because of the inevitable shift in trending music styles, Middle C aims to keep live music a celebrated factor in Washington, D.C., by selling instruments and offering instrument repairs. “We try to stay optimistic that people will continue to play live music and that’s something that’s important to us at the store: selling actual instruments,” Curl said. Despite these changes, Curl and the rest of the team at Middle C believe the music community has grown and continues to flourish.
Places like Middle C Music Store are often underappreciated but are important to the community. Their outreach programs such as the summer rock camps allow for elementary school students to pick up instruments at a young age, expanding the music community as a whole.
Myrna Sislen, Missy Curl and the rest of the team at Middle C constantly work on reaching out to music-driven kids, whether in neighboring schools through education funding or in foreign countries through projects like Landfill Harmonic. Although Washington D.C. is fast-moving, Middle C Music takes pride in the store’s “welcome to the family” atmosphere.
Even the bathroom of Middle C Music is filled with color and personality, with sheet music covered walls.
“Hopefully the live music scene will remain alive and well, and withstand the test of time,” Curl said.