Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 29 With new center & new name, why our mission matters V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L P eter Yarrow, of the iconic folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, sums it up best: "rough music, we reach each other's hearts and souls. Music allows us to find a connection." As a 36-year-old nonprofit music education and performance organization in Littleton, Indian Hill Music not only centers on education and live performance, it reaches into the hearts and souls of people in nearly 80 communities to help them connect to music, and to each other. Opening in fall 2022, Groton Hill Music Center – our new 126,000-square-foot facility on 110 stunning acres in Groton – will be an inspirational space for music listening, learning, and performing, serving many more individuals and families. Designed by Epstein Joslin Architects of Cambridge with world-class acoustics, our 300- and 1,000-seat concert halls will soon echo with the sounds of some of the top musical artists in jazz, roots, global music, classical, and more. With 35 teaching studios and bright, open community spaces, we look forward to welcoming thousands from all over New England into our musical community. When the opportunity arose for us to build the music center of our dreams, we took stock of who we are, what we stand for, and who we want to become as an organiza- tion. We create vibrant and inspiring music experiences. We are arts leaders who break barriers; whether financial – through need-based scholarships and music outreach programs in high-need school districts – or cultural and social, through our diverse programming and commit- ment to inclusivity and equity through access to music. Our decision to change our name to Groton Hill Music Center when we move next fall honors our history and gives us a sense of home. It also reflects our value of be- ing a welcoming community of excellence, open to all. We believe our work is essential to the well-being of our communities, and the benefits we provide are recog- nized and supported by the business partners, sponsors, and donors who have aligned with our mission to share the transformative power of music. Our supporters invest in us because they see the value in music for themselves and for our shared communities. By supporting the arts, a business supports the wellbeing of the community at large. Music has the power to transcend barriers. It lis people up. It soothes the soul. Learning to play an instrument or sing develops real-life skills and attributes that are markers for success in other areas of our lives: resilience, perseverance, discipline, and self-confidence, among them, building stronger individuals. We encour- age businesses to explore and invest in their local music and arts organizations. Connect to your community by connecting to the arts! Lisa Fiorentino is CEO of Indian Hill Music in Littleton. Visit indianhillmusic.org. BY LISA FIORENTINO Special to WBJ The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. e legacy of Valentin Gapontsev Lisa Fiorentino W O n Oct. 22, a titan of the Central Massa- chusetts economy passed away. Valentin Gapontsev, the founder, chairman, and former CEO of Oxford fiber laser man- ufacturer IPG Photonics, died at age 82, leaving a legacy of scientific exploration, entrepreneur- ialism, and business success. Worcester's only resident billionaire – a designation he was never comfortable with – Gapontsev's achieve- ments are the things young scientists and startups dream of. You can see that same spirit throughout young companies in the region, as we try to build an ecosystem capable of turning out a company like IPG. Gapontsev founded IPG's predecessor company in his native Russia in 1990. Over the course of the next 16 years, which included the move to Oxford, Gapontsev and his team pushed optical fiber laser technology and its many applications onto the world, developing technologies for industries like aerospace and telecommunications. In 2006, the company had its initial public offering on the stock market, raising $90 million. Little did those early investors know that they were strapping themselves to a rocket ship. Within 12 years, IPG would bring in more than $1 billion in an- nual revenue, be included in the S&P 500, and employ more than 6,000 people. e company's success has not only generated many high-paying jobs, but pro- duced immense wealth reinvested in our community. In his life, Gapontsev would be the listed inventor on 100+ patents and author 200+ scientific papers, while winning awards like the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Russian Federation National Award in Science and Technology. ough Gapontsev, who was a very private per- son, was never involved in the larger Central Mass. business community in the hands-on way Hanover Insurance Group CEO John Roche or UMass Memo- rial Health CEO Eric Dickson are, he is the type of en- trepreneur community development officials hope to foster. While Central Mass. is still in the nascent stages of developing a culture where colleges, incubators, investors, and business fuel an innovation economy, the seeds are here, and the players coming together. Take, for example, Solvus Global, which is a technology solutions company started by two PhD students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who struck a deal with – among others – IPG Photonics to secure research funding. Now, Solvus has three locations throughout Central Massachusetts, includ- ing a 32,000-square-foot Leominster manufacturing center, which opened in October. Other companies like Worcester energy company Battery Resourcers, which also started based on WPI technology, and Devens nuclear research firm Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which was spun out of technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, embody the same spirit as IPG and Gapontsev. Over the course of 82 years, a young Russian scientist made his way through technological break- throughs and business development to land his company in Oxford, Massachusetts, and his home in Worcester. It underscores the importance of attracting and welcoming immigrants to the U.S., as a number of our most successful entrepreneurs were born outside the country. While few entrepreneurs will ever become billion-dollar, world-class leaders in their industry, the more young entrepreneurs we can attract and support, the stronger our region's economy will be. W A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L

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