Caffè Lena School of Music

Art of the Song is a proud media partner with Caffè Lena, the home of good folk since 1960. Vivian Nesbitt is the Program Coordinator for the Caffè Lena School of Music, offering in-person and online courses for children and adults.

About Caffè Lena School of Music

If you believe that music, poetry and storytelling are essential forms of human expression that must be taught and passed forward to the next generation, you’re in the right place. The School of Music is rooted in folk tradition. We learn and play in small, friendly groups, master a repertoire of enduring folk songs, and learn to play by ear rather than reading sheets of music. This is the way people have made music part of their everyday lives forever, and that’s the tradition the Caffe Lena School of Music seeks to carry on.

Youth Online Classes

Through introductory courses, children aged 7 – 12 can study banjo, fiddle, guitar, ukulele, tin whistle and fiddle tunes. Each session consists of 10 weekly 40 minute lessons, with additional help provided outside of group lessons as needed. Full scholarships, including instruments, are available for any family that qualifies for free or reduced school lunch. These lessons are currently online and children may enroll from outside the area. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, we will return to in-person classes held after school at Caffe Lena.

Adult Online Classes

Adult classes are taught online by some of the folk world’s best teachers like Dan Navarro, Bruce Molsky, Siobhan Quinn, Allison DeGroot and Robin O’Herin. Each session consists of four weekly lessons. There are new classes being added all the time!