Published in the December 11-25, 2013 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Mark Fenichel
Photo by Roni Depue
Morgan Hill Life Advertising Director Mark “Fenny” Fenichel and Greg Kihn at Kihn’s signing of his new book at BookSmart Oct. 15.
A business with a purpose, an owner with a passion… that’s The Music Tree. Owner Darin Dixon had a dream of getting out of the high-tech field and owning a business in his home town. One day in 2006, he was strolling through downtown Morgan Hill thinking about buying a store that he could run and noticed The Music Tree.
Music has always been Dixon’s passion and The Music Tree seemed to be a likely candidate. However, he knew the owner had been there since 1974 and would certainly not be interested in selling the well-established business. As fate would have it, heading down the sidewalk from the other direction comes the former owner and they strike up a conversation. Then out of the blue he asks Dixon if he might know anyone interested in buying his store. Within a month they finished the paperwork and Dixon took over the business.
Dixon was able to apply his past experiences as a musician, bank teller, credit analyst and high tech sales and service representative. He has since doubled the size of the store, building it into the hub of the music scene in Morgan Hill. The Music Tree now offers 20 teachers giving lessons from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Darin Dixon
The store offers a full instrument rental and repair department for band and school students, a Swap Shop consignment section for used and consignment instrument sales on-site and online (www.musictreeswapshop.com), and a full retail store carrying brand name guitars, bass guitars, ukes, amps, percussion and drums, sound equipment, harmonicas, instruction and music books and brass and woodwind instruments.
The Music Tree’s Studio 13 is available as a recording studio and rehearsal space and Studio 14 offers children’s music programs through Music In Motion with Michelle Moyer. This program includes Music Together, a fun positive experience for young children from infant to five years of age. It also gives young children the experience of “feeling” music through clapping, singing, and stomping rhythms.
In addition to Dixon’s involvement with the worship team at South Valley Community Church, Children’s Weekly Chapel Service at Pacific West Christian Academy and teaching guitar classes at Jackson Academy of Math and Music, he has grown The Music Tree into a community store where local residents can explore all aspects of music.
He continues to work with the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras and Taste of Morgan Hill performance stages, demo areas, and children’s entertainment, July 3 Freedom Fest, July 4 parade announcement booths, both the Thursday Night Music Series and Friday Summer Concert Series, and running the sound for the International Competitions at the Aquatic Center.
It is Dixon’s vision to make music an integral part of the downtown Morgan Hill community and it is easy to see that he is doing just that.
