AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CAFFE LENA SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The School of Music is rooted in Caffè Lena’s legacy of building community through folk music. It expands the mission to provide a gathering place where our humanity is expressed through a tradition that has been handed down to us across the generations. Students, both children and adults, learn by ear in small, friendly groups. Together, they master a repertoire of enduring folk songs, and write some new classics, too.
Shared Mission:
Caffè Lena’s mission statement: To provide music, connection and learning from a legendary venue. Caffè Lena presents extraordinary music in an intimate setting steeped in history. It is widely recognized as the longest continuously operating folk music venue in the United States. The Library of Congress calls Caffè Lena “An American treasure,” and has been recognized by The GRAMMY Foundation for our important contributions to the development of American music.
Caffè Lena’s Statement of Values
- We cultivate authentic human connection by treating our volunteers, staff, artists, students, customers and online participants as friends and community members.
- We value, present and teach musical traditions that have contributed to the evolution of American folk music. We also present performances of global roots traditions that are underrepresented in the mainstream music industry.
- We recognize that the music we present has developed and been sustained primarily as a non-commercial family and community tradition. In keeping with that tradition, we welcome children, teens and adults to create, learn and enjoy art side by side.
- We embrace the role of folk music as a loud, clear voice for truth, racial equality, fairness and against oppression in all its forms, and recognize that its history has not always reflected these values.
- We include people of diverse abilities and limited means by offering free programs, scholarships and volunteer opportunities.
- We care for our customers and artists by offering the highest level of service, comfort and safety that we can provide.
- We contribute to the wider arts community by participating in conferences and festivals, collaborating with other arts organizations, and disseminating information about regional cultural events.
- We are active in the local community, sharing our resources with other nonprofits from all sectors, delivering free live music to schools and charitable sites, purchasing supplies from local businesses, and addressing community needs whenever possible.
School of Music core values and guiding principles:
Authenticity As a school of folk music, the classes encourage traditional methods of learning by ear, learning as a group, and encourage participants to feel part of a whole.
Inclusivity The staff creates a safe environment in which to learn. Particular attention is given to removing barriers to entry for those interested in learning to play acoustic music, and have limited resources.
Flexibility The School maintains a mix of in-person and online classes. We meet the students where they are and are responsive to their needs.
Communication The staff respects the timeliness of all communications and is responsive through the entire process. From hiring the instructor, scheduling the classes, and final payment to student registration, reminders, and follow-up. The staff provides information quickly, clearly and with kindness.
Indicators of Progress
The program is approaching self-sustaining status.
- 10+ classes per week online or in-person (After-School, Seniors, Online)
- 80% capacity consistently
- 60% retention rate of students re-enrolling
- 25% of the students receive assistance
The School contributes to the wider arts community by participating in conferences and festivals, collaborating with other arts organizations, etc.
- Three generations playing together in our monthly Jams and song circles or swapping tunes at the festival gatherings.
- Weekend Caffè Camps
- Student groups are performing at Farmers Markets, Senior Centers, and other opportunities.
The Path Forward:
The School of Music plays a critical role in maintaining Caffè Lena’s integrity as a venue whose values inherent to folk music are experienced in action. The School provides an important function in the cultural preservation and the promotion of the form through curated programming featuring world class instruction with a “back-porch” vibe. The in-person offerings reflect back to the origins of folk and Caffè Lena’s beginnings, while the online classes, by embracing current technology, serve to increase the participation of artists and instructors worldwide and to likewise expand the Caffe’s target audience.
Where we have been
Since 1960 the Caffè has provided space for rising musical talent to listen, jam and learn from some of the greatest artists of our generation. Music became a part of their everyday life in a human way; authentic and Real. With a desire to see this legacy continue and reach the next generation, board member Kevin Bright donated funds to create a children’s folk music program for ages 7-12 years of age. Keeping registration costs low, offering generous scholarships and providing instruments to those in need, the usual barriers to entry for programs like this were addressed to make it available to all.
Context: The School of Music’s first two years
In early 2020 a small pilot program was planned offering guitar, ukulele and fiddle. The first session with seventeen children was scheduled to meet at Caffè Lena on March 10, 2020. In light of the growing COVID-19 pandemic, the start was postponed one week and moved online to ensure everyone’s health and safety.
The initial ten-week offering for children sold out in a week. To accommodate the demonstrated interest, a second nine-week session opened on April 30, 2020 and a third eight-week session opened June 16, 2020 and continued through the Spring of 2021. (Out of twenty-eight children enrolled between March – June fourteen participated in one session, six took all three sessions, and eight participated in two sessions. Two children took multiple instruments within the program. We added a theater workshop for 12 – 15 year olds that had five students for a six-week online class. The students wrote, acted and produced a ten minute short film with a School of Music teacher at the helm.)
The evening online programs for adults started in April of 2020 and attracted ten world class teachers who were all looking for ways to survive being off the road during the COVID lockdown.
A total of sixty-eight class offerings attracted over four hundred and fifty students, with a sixty percent re-enrollment rate and were at eighty-five percent capacity through the summer of 2021. While the children’s program drew from the local area, the adult program attracted an international audience with less than twenty percent coming from the Capital District.
Moving ahead into 2021, the School stayed online until summer when we offered our first in-person half day summer camp for children called Troubadours in Training. Five students learned to play instruments together and expand their ability to support each other musically in an ensemble setting.
In the fall of 2021, the School of Music followed the successful model of the children’s summer camp and started the After School Folk Ensembles in person at the Caffè. To accommodate students that developed a relationship with the School online but lived outside the drive time area, we offered an online Fiddle Tunes class and a Songwriting class. Since January of 2022 Folk Ensemble consistently enrolls 25-30 students in three sessions each week for ten weeks. The online after school classes for children have been discontinued and we have added Guitar Club, Band and private lessons in-person. The School has expanded to include daytime programming for adults in-person and the online evening program continues monthly.
Challenges and Solutions
In 2022, as the world opened up again, registration in the online evening/weekend classes fell off dramatically. In general, teachers were less available, and students were looking forward to being at festivals in person. Inflation and the decrease in disposable income could also be a factor. In person activities like after school sports and other clubs began to impact the children’s programs. The School began to expand in-person programming during the day to fill a need for music lovers over 55 as well as classes for preschool aged children and their caregivers.
By spring of 2024, the programming balance has shifted to include more in-person activities and maintains a predictable online presence of specialized offerings, as well as in-person weekend workshops.
Conclusion:
Overall, the “appearance” of the School, and its growth since 2020 is a natural sign that Caffè Lena has matured into its full purpose. Caffè Lena School of Music invites people to become engaged participants in music that extends beyond the venue’s four walls. Like the volunteer program and the open mics, it is further evidence that the experience of being part of Caffè Lena can change lives.