FRONT PORCH CVILLE

The Front Porch's mission is to connect everyone through music. In order to connect everyone, we strive to reduce barriers to music education for those who cannot traditionally access it because of economic, geographic, or demographic barriers. Our music outreach program, “Roots & Wings,” offers high quality musical experiences to low-income and at-risk children by sending teaching artists out into the community. We teach 275 students each week through Roots & Wings at fourteen sites including local public elementary schools, early education centers, community centers, and Boys and Girls Clubs. Our goal for the upcoming school year is to double the number of Roots & Wings students. We also send musicians to Hospice of the Piedmont, to awaken musical memories for those suffering from cognitive decline and provide them peace and grounding near the end of their lives. .


In addition to supporting the Charlottesville community through music education programming, The Front Porch is committed to supporting performing and teaching artists. TFP prioritizes hiring and retaining qualified, experienced musicians and teaching artists by consistently paying all artists a professional wage. We also prioritize booking professional artists from diverse backgrounds - especially racial and ethnic minorities, women, and youth - in our concert series.

The Front Porch was founded with the belief that music is a universal language that acts as a gathering force. It is a bridge between our past and our future. It allows us to express ourselves creatively and connect with others. The Front Porch aims to provide the highest quality music education program, coupled with opportunities to practice and share in a community setting, so that the joy of music may be available to all residents and sustained for generations.

As a non-profit organization, The Front Porch strives to be inclusive, affordable, and accessible in order to connect everyone through music. The Front Porch offers scholarships to those who demonstrate need. Classes and lessons are priced at a level that is below the national average without compromising the pay scale of our teachers. Since 2017 we have offered more than $50,000 worth of scholarship funding to our students. TFP also provides appropriate materials for all classes, including instruments when necessary. Our free community jam program consists of five jams each month, and we frequently host free and donation-only arts events to supplement our programming.

We also attempt to overcome barriers to musical experiences that prevent community members from accessing our services. We negate transportation barriers by sending teaching artists out into the community through our Roots & Wings program and through partnerships with area organizations. These classes are also free, and we offer scholarship funding for students at our music school.

The Front Porch has realized significant impact in its six years of operation. Beginning in the founder’s living room in 2015 with 30 students, TFP is now located in two locations in Charlottesville and hosts over nearly 400 weekly students and jammers, and serves more than 15,000 people per year. Our Roots & Wings outreach program reaches 275 students who cannot afford music lessons each week, and that number is set to double.

The Front Porch has also prioritized sustaining partnerships with other mission-driven organizations to serve the community, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Black and Global Roots Music Program, Blue Ridge Irish Music School, Charlottesville Area Network Dedicated to Youth Development, International Neighbors, Jefferson Area Board for Aging, Music Resource Center, The Paramount, Potter's Craft Cider, Rivanna River Company, the Southern, Ting Pavilion, the University of Virginia, the Virginia Folklife Program, and the YMCA.

In response to the COVID-19 closures, we pivoted our operations virtually, offered private and group lessons through online platforms, and hosted a “Save the Music” series of live-streamed concerts to support local performing musicians who lost income during the pandemic. Public support has been generous; we were able to pay all performing musicians a cash guarantee, and used the Save the Music concert series to raise money for other non-profit organizations in Charlottesville, like the Emergency Food Network, Hospice of the Piedmont, and more. Grants allowed us to continue paying all full-time staff at 100% of their normal rate. Despite physical distancing, we continued to realize our mission of connecting everyone through music.

As the pandemic recedes, The Front Porch is again positioned to expand our reach and impact. We recently opened a new building location with additional classrooms, revamped our outreach programs, and we continue to forge new partnerships with area organizations who can support our drive to connect our community through music.