By: Theodora Antar
Litchfield Music Center is a great local business in the community that has so much to offer. Located on 367 Bantam Road, Litchfield, they are in a perfect and convenient location. Many years ago, the building was the Connecticut Light & Power building. The building has stood the test of time, and its solid brick construction has proved to be more than durable over the years. Eventually, the building was sold by CL&P to the Anderson family, who turned it into the Plumbing Supply House. That business sold various kinds of plumbing supplies until they went out of business in the 1980s. During that time, the DiBlasi family acquired the building from the Andersons, and they turned it into an office building for White Birch Construction. This company had its headquarters there for over 20 years, until it finally closed. After a while, a video store named Town & Country video moved into the building and stayed in business for over 13 years. The advent of Blockbuster ended their reign after a while, forcing them to close. After seeing many businesses come and go, DiBlasi wondered what the building would eventually become. Finally, local resident Kathy DeCarlo subsequently opened a music store in the building and began to offer music lessons in town. She was loved by many and did a great job for many years until she finally was ready to pass on the business. From that point on, the DiBlasi family concluded that they didn’t want to see any more business changes for the building. The family came up with a vision for the new direction that they wanted the building to go. Joe DiBlasi decided in 2019 to start the Litchfield Music Center, as it is today. DiBlasi updated the building and began offering large, inviting, soundproof lesson rooms, all new floors, TVs in the lobby, and 12 of the best music and voice instructors in the state. DiBlasi prides himself on knowing that the Litchfield Music Center has been voted Best in Music & Voice lessons three of the three years in a row that they have been open. Currently, they offer top of the line pianos, keyboards, guitars from England, and more. They have entry level guitars for beginners, and all the music accessories you can think of. From strings to band cleaning kits, guitar chords to pics, they have it all! DiBlasi also takes pride in the fact that they have a full wall of music gear for customers to browse. “Litchfield Music Center also offers the best, hands down in guitar repair. Frank Brokelhurst is amazing. He set up shop here at my building and has been extremely successful…folks are dropping off guitars all week faithfully!” DiBlasi said, noting that he found Frank with the help of his dear friend Tracy Walton of On Deck recording studio. DiBlasi reflected further on his experiencing noting “When I opened Litchfield Piano works shop and Litchfield Piano Works Showroom that is still here today 22 years later. I never knew it would lead to all this. Just a quick history of the stars I have worked with and have worked on their pianos. The band Jethro Tull was here in my store and in my car as we went for breakfast. Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, BB King, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Aretha Franklin, Daryl Hall, Joan Rivers, Bobby Vinton, Leon Russell, Smoky Robinson, Kenny G, Johnny Mathis and the list goes on. I am the piano technician for Yale University for 17 years, the Warner Theatre in Torrington for 22 years, and The Palace Theatre in Waterbury for 18 years. We have so many things going on here at Litchfield Music Center!” In addition to all of this, they also offer a kids summer music camp run by Julia Autumn Ford, a true professional. They are also open seven days a week for lessons. Furthermore, the Piano Showroom offers brand new pianos, preowned pianos, plus top of the line digital keyboards by Nord and Kurzweil both home and professional models. DiBlasi invites anyone interested in learning to more to stop down and take a look around, try the guitars, and pianos, and sign up your kids for music or voice lessons! Additionally, DiBlasi also rents space in the back to Tang Soo Do by Don, who has been there for over nine years successfully. They have had over 200 families each month for karate lessons, and DiBlasi considers them as family. Prior to them being in that space, it was a vinyl record shop called Phoenix Records. Tang Soo Doo has been a welcome addition in its place, and they look forward to many more years in business. Thank you to the DiBlasi family and to Litchfield Music Center for your great value you bring to our community!
