Belle Haven Music Instructor Teaches Kids to Love Music

Belle Haven music teacher Katie Kraft enjoys teaching kids about the joys of music.

Kraft is the founder of Accelerando Music, a business that teaches music classes to children as young as infants all the way to elementary school. The business's mission is “accelerating your child’s growth and development through the world of music," which Kraft accomplishes through fun, engaging curriculum. 

She started out playing the piano and guitar, which remain her primary instruments. After graduating from UVA with a BA in music in 2003, she taught general music at a New Jersey elementary school while teaching guitar lessons on the side. Five years later, she returned home to Virginia. She had a choice between teaching in the school system or founding her own business, and she chose the latter. One of her first gigs was running a guitar camp at First Baptist Church in Alexandria, and she decided to start her own business teaching private lessons.

"It started out with me doing a couple lessons out of my apartment and traveling to other people," Kraft said.

Kraft founded Accelerando Music in 2009 and started teaching guitar and piano lessons to local kids. In 2012, she started holding lessons in her home studio and began to teach early childhood music classes. Tots with Tempo is Kraft's most popular music class, introducing basic music concepts to toddlers. Tots with Tempo was so popular that she created Fam Jam, an informal monthly drop-in class for families; Duet with Daddy classes, and Mommy, Me, and Harmony classes. Kraft designs the curriculum herself.

Many of Kraft's students are students from her guitar camp at First Baptist Church. She enjoys teaching the private lessons as well as early childhood classes.

"I like the private lessons usually with the older kids, they respect that it’s a weekly thing and I love to watch them grow," Kraft said. "I've had some of them for three years now and it's been cool to watch them grow."

Kraft and her husband, Logan, perform as an acoustic duo at weddings and local events. In her spare time, Kraft enjoys spending time with her new dog and riding her bike.

For more information about Accelerando Music, visit www.accelerando-music.com.