MISSION

We foster the youth of Charlottesville through music. The Music Resource Center is a safe, diverse, and creative community where teens learn, grow, and make music together. MRC is affordable to all.

As a nonprofit after-school program, the Music Resource Center provides unlimited voice, instrument, and dance lessons, practice space, mentorship, access to instruments and equipment, performance opportunities, summer camps, and recording studio time to 6th – 12th grade students.

Participation in after-school programming of any kind helps keep adolescents out of trouble in the evenings, and often boosts grades and test scores while providing structure and fun. Arts programs also benefit young people, particularly teenagers, by engaging their creative tendencies, helping them to achieve goals, boosting confidence, and teaching them productive ways to express themselves.  The Music Resource Center brings all these benefits together under one roof, and serves 300-400 members per year.

We believe that no adolescent should go without access to the arts, and that money should not get in the way of creative, talented young people who want to pursue music. That’s why we work hard to keep costs to families low, with fees as low as $1 per year.  Membership fees are determined by a sliding scale based on family size and income, though we are also able to offer additional scholarships on a case-by-case basis. Please see the membership application for more information, or contact us directly with any questions.