For the past four years, Yonatan Grinberg has been connecting Baltimore’s Torah community with classical music and changing lives for the better. Mr. Grinberg’s fledgling after-school program, Baltimore Bows, has outgrown its space and is now a part of CEMA, the Chamber Encounters Music Academy. CEMA offers music instruction both after and during school hours, teaches at all levels and to all ages, and gives stunning educational concerts at the Gordon Center. As Mr. Grinberg says, “The Baltimore community recognized the many intellectual, emotional, and spiritual benefits of serious music instruction for both children and adults and has been supportive of our growth.”

The support started as soon as the Grinbergs moved to Baltimore. “In many communities, when I tell people I’m a musician, they say, ‘What can you do with that?’ says Mr. Grinberg, “but when I moved to Baltimore they asked, ‘Can you teach my children?’” And with that, Baltimore Bows was launched, in 2014, with only 16 students.

When Head of School Brocha Margolese decided to create a music program for Darchei Noam Montessori, she wanted it to reflect the integral place that music holds in the lives of Torah Jews, as part of our mesorah as well as of our daily lives. She also wanted to find a partner who understood our community and had a reputation for delivering serious musical training.

Picture a school where the students move around the room freely, choosing work that interests them and sitting or standing to complete it, totally focused and engaged. Imagine a classroom where the teacher never lectures from the front of the room, but moves from student to student, observing their progress, encouraging, suggesting, and guiding. At one table, the teacher gives a kriah lesson to a few students while another student learns math concepts by manipulating a trinomial cube. The work is hands-on. Everyone learns at their own pace.

For many families, this sounds like a dream, but for the past seven years, this scene has been a reality at Darchei Noam Montessori. Until now, this educational experience has been reserved for a few lucky three- to six-year-olds, but starting next fall, Darchei Noam will expand into first through third grades.