Olney: Creating Community Through Music

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https://vimeo.com/20333137]

Starting a small business primarily dependent on patronage from the surrounding community is always a challenge.  Will residents accept your establishment? Will you get enough patronage to stay afloat? Does the service you provide meet the needs of the community?  Fifteen years ago the owners of the Gibson School of Music and Arts in Olney faced these very challenges head on.  In that time the neighborhood has changed drastically. As Professor Randy J Gibson, founder and CEO, tell it, “This was once an all German community now it’s extremely diverse. Many businesses ran from the change, we welcomed it.”  While residents and other businesses have come and gone, the Gibson school has remained a constant fixture on North Fifth Street.

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Everyone entering the school is greeted with a smile and a hello.  Both Professor Gibson and his wife Wilhelmina know every student and parent by name.  There is an unmistakable sense of community that Mrs. Gibson believes is the key to their success.  As she explains, “Most of our students come to us through word of mouth or from neighborhood churches that we reach out to.”

Whether or not the Gibson School will be around for yet another fifteen years, remains to be seen.  However, the words in the first line of their mission statement give a small sample of what this unique place has to offer the neighborhood of Olney.

Our Mission
The Gibson School of Music and Art: a place where virtually every instrument and every nationality is taught excellence in musicianship and life.

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