EASTHAMPTON — Under the watchful eye of Michelle Prindle, 10-year-old Carya Verson worked on perfecting a short song on the piano on a Monday afternoon. She began by playing a lilting melody with her right hand before moving onto some deeper notes with her left. When she combined the two, music filled the small room to the brim.

Verson’s mother, Rei Matsushita, has been taking her daughter to piano lessons at The Prindle School in Easthampton for about three years now — not only because she’s come to love the mentorship offered by Prindle, but also because it offers an opportunity to learn an instrument not offered at Hilltown Cooperative Public Charter School, where she studies. Matsushita said The Prindle School has played an important role in developing her children’s musical skills, and that its importance only continues to grow as music programs face cuts throughout the region and the nation.

However, for some students who don’t have access to certain kinds of music education at their schools, there is an additional financial barrier that prevents them from accessing private lessons.

Michelle and Dan Prindle have been all too aware of this issue, and they’re planning to do their part in bringing music to more children in the region. This summer, The Prindle School is launching a new scholarship program designed to address this equity gap in the musical arts, allowing local families to take advantage of the school’s summer programming.

“The limitation when you move parts of the public sector into the private sector always becomes money,” said Dan Prindle. “It just limits access.”

When the husband-and-wife duo opened The Prindle School about 10 years ago after years of teaching private lessons in Connecticut and then Northampton, their goal was to bring the gift of music into the lives of more children, regardless of the musical medium they’re excited about.

While the school boasts about 300 students across its three locations in Easthampton, Florence and Hadley, they hope to expand their reach to students with less access to music education. The school already has two scholarship programs for private lessons, but Dan Prindle explained that the new program is “geared toward kids with no music experience.”

Currently, the school is planning to offer four scholarships for its half-day rock band camp this summer, totaling about $175 per student per week. If community members wish to provide donations, Dan Prindle explained, the school can offer even more spots at no cost to interested children. That summer programming will take place at the school’s Easthampton and Hadley locations this year.

‘Improving their lives’

To the Prindles, their fellow instructors and their students, music education isn’t just about learning to sing or play an instrument well. It’s also about the social-emotional education that music offers young minds, and the fact that it’s been shown to improve student achievement in subjects ranging from English to math.

“It improves their lives across the board,” Dan Prindle said. “When you remove this kind of funding, you run the risk of widening the achievement gap.”

Jean-Paul Maitinsky has witnessed the benefits of music firsthand in his son Stefan, who has been playing the cello since first grade. Now a ninth grader, Stefan continues his cello studies at The Prindle School and as a member of the Springfield Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Not only does the cello offer Stefan a fulfilling, screen-free way to spend his time, but it has also made him a strong presenter and all-around student.

“I think my son really sees Dan as a mentor,” Maitinsky said. “He’s a fabulous music teacher.”

Musical mastery

Music, fittingly, was what brought Michelle and Dan Prindle together. The pair met while working on a production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at their Connecticut high school. After graduating, they both went on to pursue their musical passions at the highest levels.

Dan Prindle attended Berklee College of Music for his undergraduate studies, then moved on to receive a master’s degree and doctorate at UMass Amherst. Michelle Prindle attended the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, and is now working on a master’s degree at UMass Amherst while teaching voice lessons at the university along with her Prindle School classes.

Dan Prindle brings a knowledge of a variety of instruments to the business, while Michelle Prindle brings her expertise as an opera singer.

The couple began The Prindle School out of its Easthampton location, before expanding to Florence and Hadley. Outside of their teaching and studying, the Amherst residents spend time raising awareness in their community for the importance of music.

“We’ve been active for several years in Amherst advocating for preserving the funding for the music curriculum,” Michelle Prindle said, describing music education as “one of the first things on the chopping block” when school funding gets tight.

Regardless of their various levels of access to music, students of The Prindle School have become a loyal group of music devotees who return week after week for the tailored mentorship and music instruction they get through their classes.

Jeremy Harman, a professional musician himself, has entrusted his son, Silas’ music education to The Prindle School for more than three years. Silas showed an affinity for the drums from a young age, and Harman said he was glad to find his son quality instruction and mentorship to harness that passion.

“He used to pull pots and pans out in the kitchen and make his own little drum sets,” Harman laughed.

Silas started taking lessons at The Prindle School remotely, but now the 10-year-old regularly takes in-person classes at the school. While Silas is homeschooled, Harman said that even if he were taking music classes at a local public school, “it’s just a different thing to have one-on-one instruction with an instrument.”

Lessons at The Prindle School aren’t limited to young students. Maitinsky said that his mother enjoyed delving into the world of music theory under the tutelage of Dan Prindle late in her life.

“Dan taught her music theory for the last year of her life,” Maitinsky said.

Maitinsky and Harman both expressed their excitement about the school’s summer scholarship plans, which will allow more local kids to find the joy in music that their own children have.

“We’re big fans,” Maitinsky said. “I think that what he’s doing with this scholarship program is fabulous.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.