Mission Statement
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.About Music Resource Center
For more than 30 years, the Music Resource Center (MRC) has given Charlottesville-area teens a safe, welcoming place to make music, build relationships with caring adults, and stay connected to school and community.
As an after-school program for 6th–12th graders, MRC offers unlimited voice, instrument, and dance lessons, along with practice space, mentorship, access to instruments and equipment, recording studio time, performance opportunities, and summer camps. We serve 200-300 members each year, and hundreds more through partnerships with local organizations like PHAR, STARS, and the Boys & Girls Club.
We believe no young person should go without access to the arts, and that money should never stand between a talented, curious teen and the chance to pursue music. Membership fees follow a sliding scale based on family size and income, starting as low as $1 per year, and we offer additional scholarships case by case.
After-school programs help keep teens engaged and out of trouble in the evenings, and they often support better grades and test scores. Arts programs add something more: they tap into teenagers’ creativity, help them set and reach goals, build confidence, and give them healthy ways to express themselves. MRC brings all of this together under one roof.
That matters now more than ever. Local schools are facing rising mental health needs and chronic absenteeism, and we see the effects firsthand through student surveys, conversations with families, and staff observations. Teens often tell us about loneliness and stress, and they consistently name MRC as one of the few places where they feel safe, supported, and motivated. Because members must attend school during the day to participate, MRC also becomes a real incentive to show up: students who want studio time, mentorship, and time with their peers have a reason to keep coming to class.
What sets MRC apart is that our members lead the way. Staff guide students toward activities we think they’ll enjoy or benefit from, but most of our programming is self-directed. We work hard to build a culture of safety and curiosity, so when a member shows interest in something, they feel free to ask, and we go out of our way to make it happen. Our members become the architects of their own experience, using the resources we provide.