About Us

Concerts • Classes • Community

Founded in 1979, Swallow Hill Music (SHM, Swallow Hill) is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) organization that strives to positively impact the quality of people’s lives through music. SHM operates a music school and three performance venues at its Broadway & Yale location, and produces outreach activities and community events throughout the Denver metro region as an SCFD-funded Tier II organization with a $6 Million annual budget (2019).

Swallow Hill is a nationally-revered hub for concerts, classes, and community, and is a recipient of both the Mayor’s and the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and an inductee of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and Folk Alliance International’s Business Lifetime Achievement awards.

Concerts & Events

We produce family-friendly live and live-streamed concerts from local to international acts, as well as community events like open mics. Musical genres produced on our stages include Americana and roots, as well as singer-songwriters, world music, rock, bluegrass, classical, country, jazz, blues, and spoken word. We are the producing partner for concerts at Denver Botanic Gardens, Four Mile Historic Park, the Butterfly Pavilion, the Clyfford Still Museum, and various music venues.

A woman plays banjo in a group music class at Swallow Hill Music

Music Classes

We’re the country’s second largest acoustic music school, providing in-person and online private lessons and classes. Our teachers, all professional musicians, teach in an experiential style and specialize in stringed instruments, percussion, piano, and voice. We teach all age groups, and our students range from beginners to accomplished musicians who are honing their skills. We teach a wide variety of genres, including Americana and roots, bluegrass, folk, world music, jazz, blues, rock, country, and pop.

Instructor Adolfo Romero teaches a Little Swallows Early Childhood Education music class at an underresourced Denver metro area school

Community Outreach

Because we’re passionate about making music accessible, we offer music education and experiences in under-resourced communities. Our flagship early education program “Little Swallows” is provided for students across the city. Our programming also includes Little Swallows ECE music education for preschoolers, workshops and interactive performances in K-12 schools, and music therapy for our aging population, veterans, and people living with developmental or mental health challenges.

Swallow Hill’s History

Founded in 1979, Swallow Hill Music began as an outgrowth of the Denver Folklore Center, a music store in Denver’s Swallow Hill neighborhood that offered music lessons and performances to the community in the 1960s and 1970s. When the Folklore Center closed temporarily in the late 1970s, a group of committed volunteers formed Swallow Hill Music as a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “bring the joy of music to life every day.” Since then, we have become a cultural asset and a distinct thread in Colorado’s musical fabric.

Our Music Community

Swallow Hill is a community for individuals and families who want to learn about, listen to and perform music. We host exceptional musical experiences featuring world-class artists who enrich the local arts scene and range from noteworthy local performers to seasoned national and international acts. Our music school welcomes students into an inclusive community where they make social connections through music. With more than 200,000 musical connections made each year, Swallow Hill is building a dynamic and innovative community of music listeners and learners.

Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

To positively impact the quality of people’s lives through music.

Mission

Bringing the joy of music to life every day.

Values

COMMUNITY: We bring together students, concert goers, employees, volunteers and supporters to share a comfortable and friendly environment infused with music.

LEADERSHIP: We engage in civic leadership, helping grow, guide and shape Denver’s music ecosystem.

INCLUSIVITY: We promote inclusiveness in our programming, employment practices and leadership recruitment, reflecting the diversity of communities we serve.

RESPECT: We celebrate and embrace the music tradition of all cultures, engaging those around us in conversation.

QUALITY: We deliver high quality music experiences to our listeners and learners, engaging and employing professional and accomplished musicians and teachers.

CULTIVATION: We foster the talent of all our music makers.

Annual Reports

Tracey and Jennifer Twinning under the Marquee
2021
Annual Report
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Matt Skellenger Online Class
2020
Annual Report
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Guitar lessons from Swallow Hill Music
2019
Annual Report
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2018
Annual Report
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Audit Reports and Tax Returns

2021 Audit Report
2021 Tax Return
2020 Audit Report
2020 Tax Return
2019 Audit Report
2019 Tax Return
2018 Audit Report
2018 Tax Return
2017 Audit Report
2017 Tax Return
2016 Audit Report
2016 Tax Return
2015 Audit Report
2015 Tax Return
2014 Audit Report
2014 Tax Return