Seven Stars Arts Center

Located in rural Sharon, Vermont, the Seven Stars Arts Center (SSAC), formerly Vermont Independent School of the Arts, was founded in 2002 in response to widespread budget cuts in public school music education. The first Seven Stars board of directors had a vision to provide affordable, accessible music and arts education that would meet the needs of students and families that wanted to pursue the study of instrumental music. Once established, SSAC quickly grew from a music education resource into a bustling, diverse arts hub for the Upper Valley region. Today, Seven Stars Arts Center provides private musical instruction in 14 different instruments, from classical to world music, and is a rare resource for the study of specialized voice and instrumental styles including Renaissance recorders, Cape Breton fiddling, and Caribbean Steel Pan ensembles. SSAC hosts the one and only Vermont Girls Choir as well as the VT Chamber Artists. The organization also offers a growing catalog of classes in the arts of tai chi, dance, Japanese calligraphy, drawing, yoga, watercolor painting, and more. In the building’s performance space the organization hosts a variety of music and dance performances, art shows, meetings, family crafting time, and community events, drawing diverse groups and organizations to gather in this historic space.