About Music Workshop
Music Workshop is a nonprofit organization that creates high-quality, culturally responsive music programming for teachers to use in their classrooms and professional development to further their own learning.
Music Workshop is a nonprofit organization that creates high-quality, culturally responsive music programming for teachers to use in their classrooms and professional development to further their own learning.
The Music Workshop staff and board are the heart and soul of Music Workshop. We are parents, musicians, educators, and changemakers, brought together by a shared belief in the power of music to educate, inspire, and motivate.
The Music Workshop team is proud to collaborate with a diverse group of advisors -musicians, educators, and culture bearers -who bring musical expertise and personal connections to the cultures and traditions represented in our lessons and materials.
Our work is made possible by a wide range of community, corporate, and individual partners who support our mission through generous donations, shared expertise, and creative collaboration – helping us expand access to music education and teacher well-being.
Music Workshop’s mission is to create inspirational, music-empowered education accessible for all. This is why our free curriculum can be taught by any educator – regardless of their musical background, location, or financial means. It is an easy way to incorporate culturally responsive teaching through music into an existing curriculum.
Music Workshop prioritizes a global representation of a broad range of cultures in our programming. Music is a natural entry point to culturally responsive teaching, which is known to improve emotional well-being, trust, and sense of belonging for all students.
We make it easy to incorporate music-empowered learning throughout the school day with a combination of active listening, social engagement, physical activity, and critical thinking. And while Music Workshop programming is built for the classroom, it’s also flexible enough to be used for distance learning or home schooling.
After seeing music programs being cut in her own children’s schools, Amy Richter founded Music Workshop in 2012 with a mission to educate, inspire and motivate students through culturally responsive, music-empowered education.
“For years, music education has been viewed as a luxury and not a necessity – so when budget cuts come along, it’s one of the first things to go,” she said. “I couldn’t stand by and watch music disappear from my kids’ schools as well as elementary and middle school classrooms across the country.”
She joined forces with other concerned parents and educators, and together they set out to create music history and appreciation programming that teachers everywhere could use in their classrooms to inspire students to use music as a tool to improve their lives. Now, into its second decade of service, Music Workshop has a well-established network of teachers who trust and rely on our materials to help their students understand and connect to themselves, others and the world around them through music.
As we’ve grown, our teacher community has shared that they need more support to help students manage the social and academic challenges they face in the wake of the pandemic. So, we have launched a series of new professional development courses to teach educators and administrators at all levels how to use music as a tool for healing and growth.
Teachers create their own Music Workshop account to access Music Workshop’s free classroom curriculum and paid professional development courses through our online teacher portal.
To teach Music Workshop’s free music curriculum, choose from courses on a wide range of musical topics including musical genres, instruments, cultures, and careers in music. Each course provides examples and historical context to help students explore, understand, and connect with the culture, artists, and music.
Music Workshop offers professional development courses designed to support and inspire music educators, with a special focus on music and well-being. These engaging, accessible courses provide teachers with valuable tools, resources, and strategies to strengthen both their teaching practice and personal wellness. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Chiles Foundation, all professional development courses are currently available free of charge to educators everywhere.
Let’s work together to make music-empowered education relevant and accessible for all.