A Weekly Ritual Your Whole Family Will Look Forward To
Blue Ridge Music Together is exactly what it sounds like: a room full of babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and the adults who love them, all making music side by side. It’s built on the national Music Together program, which is grounded in research on how young children actually learn music, but in the room it just feels like joyful, unhurried play. No experience or musical talent required, from you or your child. If you can’t carry a tune, you’re precisely who this class is for. Designed for children from birth through age 5, the program features 12 song collections that rotate over three years. As children grow and revisit the music, they experience it in new ways, naturally building on the musical skills they developed in earlier stages. Their goal is to emphasize that any child can be musical!
Why Families Love It
The magic is the mixed-age format. Instead of separating kids by age, everyone learns together. Babies watch older children, while big siblings get to be helpers. Even better, you can bring both your three-year-old and your infant to the same class. Meanwhile, little ones are free to wander, dance, drum, or simply take it all in. Nobody minds, because that’s how young children learn. Co-directors David Berzonsky and Estela Knott both teach & lead a team of certified Music Together teachers who magically weave together a class experience using original and traditional childrens music of many different genres from all around the world. Best of all, the songs are genuinely catchy. You’ll find yourself humming them at the grocery store! As one local parent put it, it’s the highlight of their week. Even after the session ends, the friendships and sense of community often last.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Come as you are, and don’t stress about your child’s mood or your own singing voice. A class runs about 45 minutes and moves through songs, chants, movement, and instrument play, with a gentle arc from lively to calm. Your teacher leads, and your only job is to join in and let your child see you enjoying it, which is what draws them in. Kids won’t sit still, and they’re not supposed to; a toddler doing their own thing at the edge of the circle is still fully absorbing the music. Wear comfy clothes, plan to sit on the floor, and take the free trial first so it feels familiar before you enroll.
The Quick Facts
- Ages: Birth through five, all in one room. Grown-ups come to class too.
- Where: Crozet Arts in Crozet, the Unitarian Universalist Church on Rugby Road, the McGuffey Art Center on the Downtown Mall, and the Charlottesville Waldorf School.
- Registration: Enroll by seasonal session (spring, summer, fall, and winter). A free trial class is open to new families anytime a session is running, so you can try before you commit.
- Good to know: Enrollment comes with take-home materials, including a songbook and digital access to the recordings through the Hello Everybody app, plus make-up classes if you miss a week.
- Best for: New-parent community, siblings of different ages, music and movement, rainy-day mornings, and grandparents looking for a meaningful gift.
