It’s two schools in one.
Sort of.
Students seeking music instruction or dance lessons need to look no further than Railroad Street in New Milford, where both Bearclaw’s Academy of Music and FineLine Theatre Arts reside.
The two schools have lived in harmony for nearly eight years, after operating on their own in other spaces. The FineLine/Bearclaw’s home was renovated by teacher and Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Scott Wise.
The vintage building, formerly the gift store Connecticut Memories, offers rehearsal and lesson spaces and performance studios for students of all ages.
Some music rooms are outfitted with drums, guitars or pianos, and performance spaces are equipped with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and balance bars. The building even has a “black box” theater space for small shows.
Bearclaws Academy of Music owner and founder Joe Burcaw shares the vintage building on Railroad Street in New Milford, with Zoe Czerenda, owner of Fine Line Theatre Arts. The
academy is 10 years old; Fine Line is about to celebrate its 20th year. (Emily M. Olson)
On a busy afternoon, music of all kinds can be heard as students practice and rehearse.
“We teach all the orchestral instruments, plus bass, banjo, ukulele and guitar,” said Bearclaw’s owner, Joe Burcaw. “We have students who have been with us for many years, and we are always welcoming new students.”
Burcaw, who grew up pursuing a career in music, played the Boston music scene in the 1990s. Later, he spent 10 years with the Irish rock band, Black 47, touring the U.S. and Europe.
As a bass player, he was referred to as “Claws” because of “the way I claw the bass when I play,” he said.
In 2016, when he returned to his home state to care for his family in Roxbury, Burcaw chose to incorporate that nickname into his budding music school, Bearclaw’s Academy. He gave music lessons in a space on Park Lane and began building the business.
Burcaw uses his many years of performing to teach his students on a variety of instruments including bass, acoustic guitar, piano and ukulele. He said he finds the best music teachers to fill his faculty positions.
“The other teachers who work here, many of them are students from Western Connecticut State University’s music department, which is a top-notch music program,” he said. “They’re often in their 20s, and they get their experience teaching our students. Then, they move on to pursue music careers, teaching and performing.”
Bearclaws Academy of Music owner and founder Joe Burcaw shares the vintage building on Railroad Street in New Milford, with Zoe Czerenda, owner of Fine Line Theatre Arts. The
academy is 10 years old; Fine Line is about to celebrate its 20th year. (Emily M. Olson)
Bearclaw’s offers individual lessons and provides students with performance opportunities, including two recitals a year. There’s plenty of space for practice, and the school has workshops and summer camps each year. Registration is open.
FineLine is owned and operated by directors Zoe Czerenda and Elizabeth Frabizzio. The duo took the school over from founders Scott Wise and Elizabeth Parkinson, who ran their school in New Milford before moving to the Railroad Street building in 2012.
Wise, Burcaw and Czerenda said, continues to teach dance at the school along with experienced instructors in ballet, tap and other types of dance, as well as acting and musical theatre.
Czerenda started dance lessons as a child.
“I’ve been dancing all my life,” she said. “I started at Dancin’ Feet on Church Street in New Milford, the School of Performing Arts and FineLine. Later I taught classes, and I kept doing that while I was in college, during the summer.
“At Eastern Connecticut State University, I was a math major with a minor in community and theater. After I graduated in 2019, I was teaching dance full time (at FineLine),” she said.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I was still teaching (dance classes online) virtually, but everything was so limited; the classes were so small,” Czerenda said. “I moved to Georgia in July of 2021, and I came back in February 2022, and went back to FineLine. Not long after that, I was asked if I wanted to take over the business. And I said yes.”
Burcaw’s business was also impacted by the pandemic, but the lessons never stopped, he said.
“We did virtual lessons in 2020, and we reopened for in-person in 2021, but there were a lot of strict protocols,” he said. “It was tough. We went from 110 students to about 40, and we are still rebuilding that number. But today we have between 75 and 80 students. Enrollment keeps going up.”
Bearclaws Academy of Music owner and founder Joe Burcaw shares the vintage building on Railroad Street in New Milford, with Zoe Czerenda, owner of Fine Line Theatre Arts. The
academy is 10 years old; Fine Line is about to celebrate its 20th year. (Emily M. Olson)
Bringing the two schools together has been a benefit to both, he said.
“It’s a symbiotic situation,” he said. “The students get lessons from each other; it’s amazing.”
“I took music electives in college and I’ve taken lessons, because music and dance are part of what we do here at FineLine,” Czerenda said. “The students teach each other; music is part of that.”
The two institutions are celebrating milestones: Bearclaw’s 10th anniversary is in 2026, and FineLine marked its 20th year in 2025.
“We’re planning a gala in 2026 to celebrate the tenth year of Bearclaw’s, and FineLine will be part of that,” Burcaw said.
Both Burcaw and Czerenda would like to see more people in the community show their support for the arts.
“There’s so much preoccupation with sports, especially in the schools, and the arts are just as important,” Burcaw said. “I’d like for our community to embrace the arts more. It does so much for everyone. And I played sports – I’m not anti-sports.”
Czerenda agreed.
“The arts are so important, especially right now,” she said. “There’s a level of inclusion and expression in dance, where you can really be yourself. Everyone should take at least one dance class.”
To reach Bearclaw’s Academy of Music, visit bearclawsacademyofmusic.com; to reach FineLine Theatre Arts, visit finelinetheatrearts.com.
